Return to the land of the Dead
by Bovine Beauty
Summary: On the night of Halloween, Grace is whisked away to Callie's world again and must journey farther from her region to find an ancient artifact that will take her home safely. Will she succeed before Callie regains her powers?
1. Prologue

_All characters, except those not mentioned in the movie are the property of the Walt Disney Company and are used without permission. Even though I do believe that they deserve much better than what they get recently these days._

**Prologue**

"Yes my mistress, you called?" A dark thin figure rushed forward eagerly in a dark tunnel like area with torches lighting the way and ritualistic symbols written on the walls. The thin figure was a green skinned witch in a black robe kneeling down before an enormous heaving figure sitting atop a stone throne with stoned wings on top.

"Is the spell ready Millicent?" The black figure spoke in a dark cold voice. "I am not always patient with waiting this long to regain my strength."

"I understand my mistress," Millicent replied in a ghastly tone the way most witches talk. "The spell is ready just like you asked. Soon there will be enough essence to drain from those poor pathetic mortals with plenty of fear in their hearts; fearful enough to believe in this dark world of ours."

"Well done. As long as my next victims aren't wearing a cross around their necks, then that shouldn't be a problem. You know how that always prevents any witch or vampire from harming their victims."

"Yes my mistress."

"And have you found that last victim whom we tried to drain during the last failed ceremony before I lost most of my powers?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Millicent insisted. "And it appeared to me in that cauldron that she still fears hearing your tale every time it is brought up or mentioned on the eve of Halloween. Yet know one believes that she's been here. They all say she was just dreaming up silly things because of listening to those stories." With that, Millicent cackled lowly.

"Perfect. Once she falls asleep, use the spell to bring her to this world. Then bring her to my lair so that I may tell her that I'm not finished with the ritual just yet. It'll take some time before the harvest moon is full and my powers have returned. Until that happens, she'll be my prisoner in the dungeon. Now be gone. I need my rest."

"Yes my mistress," Millicent made one last bow to her mistress before rushing out of the room to attend to that spell.

"That wretched little brat; wait till I get my hooves on her. Wherever that light came from, I'm sure she had something to do with it. Maybe it's something I failed to see the first time she came here. Now that I'm weakened, I can't change into form and I have to ask my minions to perform all those spells for me. Only sitting on my throne can keep me steady for now. But soon I'll be off on my feet in no time." A wicked laugh echoed.

* * *

**_Author's note_:** _Here is my Halloween sequel to A Nightmare in Ghost Town. I wanted to thank EsmeAmelia and Teentails for reading and reviewing last year and I hope to hear from you again soon. _


	2. The Legend of Callie

**Chapter one: The Legend of Callie**

Meanwhile on Patch of Heaven, it was once again Halloween night. Pearl Gesner had planted many seeds in the vegetable garden that had grown into healthy shining orange pumpkins. A few of them had been sold as pumpkin pies and cakes while a couple stayed on the farm to have faces carved into them with candles lighting inside. It was spooky, but in a spectacular kind of way. That was what made Halloween so much fun. For a lot of folks, it was quite fun to get a few chills from listening to ghostly tales of witches, vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other ghostly tales of long ago in the old west. Without all those things, Halloween wouldn't be much of a holiday without a good scare to awaken the senses. Some called it a pagan holiday for cult worshippers which were eventually dismissed as silly centuries old gossip.

"Here you go my children," Pearl stood under the Patch of Heaven sign dressed as a witch in a black robe and pointed hat. "One lollipop for each of you." There she handed out lollipops and candy apples to three small children accompanied by an adult dressed as a ghost, witch, and Indian. But not only did they come up to the farm for candy, the children wanted to have a good look at the heroic cows hiding somewhere.

"Ma'am, can we see your cows? We wanna show them our costumes," the little Indian boy asked as politely as he tried to sound.

"Oh now Jim, I think Pearl's girls might be a little tired right now," the adult who was the boy's mother lectured softly. "And we probably shouldn't disturb them."

"Your right ma'am," Pearl agreed. Normally she would have hated to say "no" to a sweet child, but she also didn't want her cows to be disturbed from their day of rest. So she turned to the children and suggested. "Tell yah what children, why don't ya'll go and get your picture taken while you're still in costume. Then you can show it to them later."

Pearl waved goodbye to the children following the mother. Although it was a little disappointing for them to not see the girls, they were glad to still have their candy and would get their picture taken later. She watched as they went down the road hoping to get more candy from other houses they could find. For a while longer, she continued to hand out candy to other small children in costumes. Those three girls get enough respect and admiration here from the family.

"There you go," Pearl gave a candy apple to a little angel.

Then without warning, a small creature covered in a white cloth with yellow eyes and long floppy ears jumped out from behind Pearl to give the children a scare. "BOO!"

"AHHHHH!" the children suddenly scampered down the road for their lives screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Oh now look," Pearl turned to the small creature with one long foot and a peg leg underneath the cloth. "Yah scared the livin' daylights outta those children." The creature quickly darted behind the house in retreat. Forgetting about him, Pearl was greeted by two more ghosts asking for candy.

From behind the house, the creature was panting and heaving from possibly too much excitement in scaring the small guests.

"Wow that was awesome Jack!"

The creature jumped in surprise and whirled around to find the three little piglets standing behind to congratulate him on his scare. It was Lucky Jack dressed as a ghost for the night. And he had been spooked himself.

"Can you teach us how to do that trick someday?"

"One day when you're older boys. A trick like that takes a lot o' hard work." Lucky Jack promised.

"When are we gonna hear a story? You promised us a scary story by nightfall."

"Oh that," Jack who was having so much fun with scaring the visitors almost forgot what he had promised the piglets for tonight. "Thanks for remindin' me. I wouldn't wanna miss out on the best part o' this night." He giggled lightly as he flapped his cloth and turned to the opposite direction of the fenced in area where there was an empty coop. "Follow me this way…if you dare." He sneered playfully.

At the den, the three girls Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway had been busy chewing on some fresh hay and nibbling on a couple of pumpkin seeds. Well only Maggie and Grace chewed on the seeds since Mrs. Calloway insisted that she did not like the idea of having hard fragments getting stuck in her teeth. The juices inside the pumpkins were ripe and sweet as a fresh apple. At first Grace acted a little edgy when seeing the pumpkins because of her nightmare experience from last Halloween. But she soon learned that there was no spiritual activity lurking in the pumpkin patch. No matter how hard she tried to explain where she had been, no member of the family believed her. They convinced her that she was dreaming and it took a while for Grace to finally believe that perhaps they were right. What were the chances of that happening again?

"So what's Lucky Jack doing for the family tonight?" Grace asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder where Jack was preparing a small campfire.

"Oh you know. The same thing as last year," Maggie answered; her mouth full of hay. "He told us this morning that he'd be entertaining everyone with another one of his crazy campfire tales by nightfall."

The last words caused Grace to spit out pumpkin seeds. "Campfire tales?" She sounded edgy.

"Oh now Grace, have you forgotten what we talked about before?" Mrs. Calloway asked sharply.

"Huh?" Grace pretended to sound like she didn't know what Mrs. C was talking about, but she did.

"Remember how we spoke about you being trapped in a nightmare dimension out of this world?" Mrs. Calloway went silent to wait for an answer.

"That everything I've said was nothing more than a bad dream from listening to too many campfire tales," Grace answered weakly.

"And…?" there was another answer Mrs. C was waiting to hear.

"And that Callie and her minions are all figments of my imagination," Grace finished. "Is that right?"

"That's all there is to it. Besides, if you were gone that night, then why would you still be found lying inside the den asleep?"

Grace went silent. What if Mrs. C was right? What if this whole nightmare experience was making her go crazy inside her head to keep on talking about it?

"Uh-oh, sounds like someone is about to admit that there was never anything after her to begin with," Maggie teased while chewing on pumpkin seeds. Even she found it hard to believe that Grace could somehow wind up in a different realm in one night. If so, then Grace wouldn't be missing?

Grace soon blushed with embarrassment. Now she was worried that she might have been going out of her mind all along on this situation. Although the three of them admitted that the existence of Santa Clause was real after their adventure in the North Pole, it almost made her feel uncomfortable when the rest of the family didn't believe her after she told them of her encounter with Callie.

"Tell us the story of Callie," one of the piglets voices could be heard a few inches away from where Lucky Jack made a small campfire to make this time more interesting and spooky. "We wanna hear that one first."

"I thought you piglets might ask bout that," Jack cracked his knuckles, secretly hoping to be asked to tell that tale. "Now that each one o' you folks has heard of her origins, it's time I told ya'll the legend."

Before starting, Jack waited until most of the other farm animals gathered around the small campfire to hear the tale of how Callie came to be. "Hmm, now where do I begin? Aha, it all started ages ago when tall tales o' witchcraft and sorcery swept across the darn countryside. It was a time when folks strongly believed that evil spirits walked the earth in human form to prey upon the innocent."

Grace felt her ears perk up from hearing what Jack mentioned. But because she was still embarrassed about possibly losing her mind, she tried to pretend that she didn't hear him by concentrating more on eating with the other two.

"And because this rumor had been spread, a strong hefty price had been paid," Jack continued, his tone becoming dark. "Many innocent folks were condemned to death either by hangin' or burned at the stake after being accused o' practicin' the art of black magic which is also associated with witchcraft. Soon the rumors turned to legend, and legend became local superstition. At that time, folks were afraid to come outta their houses durin' the dead o' night in fear o' the evil spirits prowlin' bout to take their souls. Uh anyways let me start getting' to the point for now. Now that I'm done ramblin' with the dark ages, this tale starts in the early 17th century of Salem, Massachusetts. At first, Callie was believed to be an average farm woman livin' on a quiet hill miles from town on her own with no husband or children. Many folks thought she was a strange citizen because o' her appearance and dark accent. She'd often keep her face hidden under her hood when walkin' the streets o' town to buy supplies that are no use on a farm. But that was only durin' the night. No other citizen had seen her come out durin' the daytime or seen her real face. And sometimes, herds o' livestock would go missin' without any logical explanation. The only suspect anyone could blame was pointed at Callie. But was she really responsible for the livestock disappearances? Well, there was only one way to find out."

"What happened next?" Ollie interrupted curiously with his voice quivering. He had a feeling that something creepy was coming up in this tale. Lucky Jack was a real expert at campfire tales enough to make them sound believable for almost anyone to hear.

"Then on the night of the harvest moon, a group o' soldiers was sent to her property to find out what she had been up to all these nights," Jack continued. "There in the midst o' the dark woods, the group found her in the graveyard with five more women in dark cloaks gathered round a fire chantin' in a strange language. They waited quietly behind the trees until the right moment would come to seize them for questionin'. Soon after the chant, the group witness the women bring forth a heifer bound on all four legs toward a concrete table with a ritualistic symbol painted into it; painted in _blood_."

Grace gulped and could now feel her blood run cold after the memory of almost being sacrificed within Callie's lair gathered in her mind. What the witches were doing to that poor heifer was the same thing that they were about to do to her. Yet here she was, safe in her own world with nothing to fear. At least she hoped that were true.

"Before Callie had a chance to bring that knife down on the heifer, the soldiers then burst outta the trees and chased each one o' them crones down till they was caught. Three days later, Callie and her followers were soon accused o' stealin' folks' livestock for ritual sacrifices in the name o' witchcraft. This had angered the townsfolk and they demanded that the witches be hanged before any other sacrifices were made. So a decision was made by the government to hang'em at the same spot in the woods where the ceremony took place. Callie hissed at the townsfolk to announce that she and her minions will return on the next harvest moon night now that they had already gained immortality. Each witch let out a low ripple o' hard, souless laughter tauntin' the crowd."

"Immortality, what's that?" Audrey gasped, flapping her wings hysterically.

"The power to live forever without the fear o' dyin'," Jack replied lowly. "However did this happen ya'll might ask? Some say the hags coulda made a pact with the devil and offered their souls in service. Others say that Callie created an elixir to help each one suck the life essence outta any human or animal in order to stay powerful and strong. This was a real case because ever since a year passed after the hangin', a number o' strange events started to occur without any explanation." Cracking his knuckles again, Jack cleared his throat preparing to tell the best part of the tale. "Sometimes at night, children would turn up missin' in their rooms with the window suddenly open. Then more livestock disappeared. A search party had been formed several times to search for the missin' children. But in every search, all they found in the woods was torn clothes and a lifeless heifer bound to a pine tree. The restin' place of Callie and her followers was soon believed to be cursed. No one ever went up that hill again afterward to find out what other occurrences took place. They feared that they would suffer a fate worse than death." Then Jack's tone turned quiet and menacing as he reached the conclusion. "It is now known that the question o' whether Callie still lives remains a mystery to this day. Maybe she wasn't pullin' at their heels when she mentioned that she'd be back. The faint sounds of wicked laughter can sometimes be heard in the area along with the cries o' animals and children. Still no one ever goes up to that accursed place; unless they plan on facin' the wrath o' _**Callie!**_"

Without warning, Grace let out a high pitched scream, pulled at her face, and then made a dash for it in the den like a speeding bullet. The entire family was dumbfounded after her scream made them jump and Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were covered in a few bits of hay. The two shrugged in confusion and went to see if she was alright.

"Now what's gotten into her?" Jack asked with a puzzled expression.

"Maybe she's still not over what happened last time," Audrey guessed.

"Anyway folks, why don't I inform yah with all the details on how to protect yourselves tonight? If Callie or any other witch finds yah, remember to wear a cross that looks like this." Jack held aloft a wooden crucifix he made himself by hand. "Don't know much bout it, but I often heard it can weaken a witch's powers before layin' their hands on a victim; also quite effective against vampires. And don't forget, surroundin' yourself in a circle o' salt is another good option for protection." Placing the cross down next to him, Jack clapped his hands efficiently. "But don't let your imagination get the best o' you like Grace just now. After all, it's only Halloween; and it only comes once a year."

* * *

**Author's note**: _I know I haven't updated in a while. It's mostly because of animation projects keeping me busy from writing and I apologize. But even after Halloween, it will still feel like October to me. So that will give me time to think of names for the next few chapters of this story. Sorry to keep some of you waiting._


	3. Unpleasant Dreams

**Chapter two: Unpleasant Dreams**

"Grace, are you in here?" Mrs. Calloway entered the den with Maggie still behind. "Come on out now. This is no time for foolish games." It almost looked like no one was in here, but Maggie and Mrs. C were not convinced. Grace was in here and they were sure of it.

"I hope you're not hiding because of Callie coming to get you tonight," Maggie joked.

"Maggie," Mrs. C said sensibly.

"What? I didn't think she take it that far."

"Well don't use that witch's name in her presence. She's scared enough as it is."

After several seconds of searching, Maggie noticed a familiar golden tail sticking out of a mountain of hay at the far left corner. She quickly whispered for Mrs. C to come over and have a look at what she found. The sight of this made them both giggle silently. Why didn't they look here before?

"Peek a boo!" Maggie poked her in the hay to give Grace a small scare herself. Evidently, Grace yelped and popped out of the hay pile. Once she found who it was, she was incredibly surprised. "Gotcha!" The two started to laugh at the success of their Halloween prank.

"Ha ha, very funny girls," Grace said with a small smile. "I knew it was you two all along. In fact, I was just gettin' ready to go to sleep since it's late already."

"Sure you were Grace," Maggie said through small bits of laughter. She still thought it was funny to scare Grace like that without even taking the joke too far.

"Ah I see you girls have already decided to hit the hay," Pearl appeared at the opening still dressed in her witch costume. Grace was a little nervous when she glanced at the shadow on the ground, but remembered that Pearl had planned to give out candy this whole night to little children. "Sleep well my pretties. Tonight's the night when all the ghosts come out for their nightly jamboree. So it's best ya'll stay in and keep the doors closed. Good night now…" Pearl slowly closed the doors. "…and Happy Halloween."

"See Grace, no harm done," Mrs. Calloway assured. "Although I must admit that those stories Jack is telling those younglings are rather disturbing for their age to hear."

"But they do seem to take a liking to them Mrs. C," Grace insisted as she lowered her body across the warm hay.

"Indeed they have. I just hope he's not going overboard with every frightening detail. It might give them nightmares." With a yawn, Mrs. C stretched her legs before lying across the bundle of hay at her side. She seldom went to sleep with her hat off.

"So Grace, do you think you'll be able to sleep for tonight without all those unpleasant dreams?" Maggie bantered, still thinking about her previous scare.

"I'm positive," Grace answered meekly. "You girls were right. I guess I let all those scary campfire tales get to my head."

"Everyone gets a few scares nowadays," Maggie fixed up her sleeping area. "It's normal to be scared of one thing or another. But there are no such things as witches, ghouls, or whatever else Jack is telling the others. Some of that is made up to scare children into going to sleep and not staying up so late. It use to work on me before, but it's what this night is all about." Then she snickered. "But you should've seen the look on your face when you jumped."

Taking Maggie's helpful advice, Grace thanked her before turning to the other side to try and get some sleep. Soon Maggie drifted off peacefully with no reason to fear. She had to agree with Mrs. Calloway that being whisked away to a supernatural dream world in one's head was complete and total nonsense.

But when Grace slowly closed her eyes, she could still hear Lucky Jack telling stories to everyone else outside. It wasn't about Callie, but the legend of how the Jack O Lantern got its name. She listened fearfully as Jack reached the end where the main character had been cursed to wander the earth with a burning ember as punishment for his sins.

"So remember folks," Jack warned. "Whenever yah see a floatin' spectral hangin' in the air, keep your doggone eyes open, because it might be the spirit of Jack wantin' to rest beside yah."

Frightened, Grace pulled a pile of hay up to cover her head whilst shaking. Now it seemed certain that she was going to have another hard time getting to sleep tonight. But at least the others were not afraid as she was. Yet despite her fear, Grace stopped shivering and closed her eyes.

* * *

_Meanwhile_

"Aw that's right my pretty," a croaked voice cackled as the figure peered into the swirling cauldron and watched as Grace drifted off to sleep with her friends. "Sleep as long as you like." Then the figure pulled out a glass vile with a black substance and poured it into the cauldron. When this happened, a trail of purple mist encircled the image. "Because tonight you'll never wake up again." The figure cackled with delight and blew the mist so that the spell would work faster.

A few hours had now passed since Lucky Jack stopped telling stories and everyone else had gone to bed. The girls were now dead asleep, including Grace. Nobody even noticed that a purplish mist had slithered underneath the cracks of the doors and swirled across the floor. It flowed over Maggie and Mrs. C and toward the spot where Grace lay sleeping.

The mist moved back when it looked like Grace had stiffened. It had seemed that she would wake up, but she laid there still drowsy. The moment when Grace yawned, the mist darted into her mouth all the way down like a vortex. But the blond heifer did not wince or flutter her eyes at this. For a while, nothing unusual happened.

Suddenly she felt a twitch in her stomach. Grace turned to the other side flinching and moaning from whatever she thought might be attacking her. Shutting her eyes tightly, Grace was feeling half scared of what she'd see if she opened them.

"_Wake up mortal_!" A dark sinister voice demanded.

"No, please go away," Grace whimpered with her eyes closed. "I want nothin' to do with you. Go away."

"Open your eyes!" The voice echoed ignoring Grace's protest.

Unable to keep her eyes closed any longer, Grace gasped, rising up with a start to gaze at her surroundings. She was falling inside through swirling green walls which led to a black hole underneath. Her screams echoed in her ears when she fell into a nightmare.


	4. A Fugitive?

**Chapter three: A Fugitive?**

Grace went on screaming as she fell through the vortex until her body finally landed on red orange sand-covered ground. She shook the sand off her face after her head got stuck deep within. When she regained her vision, she found that the atmosphere had reeked with a sweltering feel to her body. The sky above was red with black silhouettes passing over in slow movement. Plateaus and canyons coated in black and brown pointed upward to the sky like cones. To her, it appeared to be a desert region, except in a dark and eerie tone.

"Maggie, Mrs. Calloway!" Grace cried out, wondering if those two were here. But nobody answered but the swift wind. "Where are you?" Still no answer. That was when Grace began to panic. "No, it can't be real. This is a dream. No, I mean a nightmare!"

Curling her body into a ball, she dropped herself on the sandy ground and buried her head deep in the sand. She kept it there until she could no longer hold her breath. Panting heavily, Grace found that her eyes could still witness the dark decaying desert.

"Wake up, please wake up!" Grace began throwing piles of sand in her face hoping to make the vision vanish. It didn't work since it only stung her eyes. Once more, the desert remained. "Bad dream go away! Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, answer me!" She thrashed her head onto the sand some more. Finally Grace gave up trying to snap out of whatever madness was happening to her. Maybe it was time for her to accept the fact that she was finally going over the edge. Moaning, Grace sat up off the ground to gaze at her surroundings. "Okay calm down now." She said calmly to herself. "There has to be a way outta this desert, but where do I go?"

Grace was certain that she was once again all alone in the dark world where the evil witch Callie rules over everything. With no other option to make, she walked forward in a straight line and tried to remember if anything was familiar to her.

"If this place is a desert, then I must be in Phantom Valley," she murmured. "That's where I encountered a herd of buffalo and ghost riders. So all I gotta do is find the trail that will lead me outta here. Hopefully I don't run into any shape shifters." Grace bit her right hoof whirling behind to make sure nothing unusual was stalking her. "I remember how those things pretended to be Maggie and Mrs. C. And I was almost drained." Gathering her courage, she pushed aside those feelings to keep moving forward with finding the trail. It might not be easy, but it was the only option she could think of for now.

As Grace kept moving, she had failed to notice that a group of four dark riders perched atop a sand dune had been watching her from a far distance. And they were aware of her true identity.

* * *

_Later on_

"Hmm," Grace mumbled thoughtfully. By now she had been wandering the desert region for quite some time and had no idea whether she should keep moving straight or turn in a different direction. "This desert is more endless than I can remember." Her confusion made her heart sink low, but that did not stop her from pressing onward while ignoring the cactuses with a few skull heads lying about. A time came for her to make another quick decision. "Perhaps I've gone straight long enough," she sighed. "I'll take a right and see how it turns out."

As she did this, white clouds of mist gathered below the ground and rose into the air. It had silently formed itself into a phantom-like creature with claws, teeth, and venomous eyes. A shape shifter had found her! With a satisfying appetite for living life forces, it slipped underneath the sand and took the form of a shadow.

The red sky had grown darker and darker as the orange sun slipped behind the sand dunes. Grace breathed nervously already getting the feeling that someone or something was secretly following her. Any moment it would jump out and attack her in the most nightmarish way that was too much for her to bear. She'd die of fright.

"There's nothing following me," Grace whispered like a frightened child sleeping alone. "There is no shape shifter or ghost rider coming out to get me. It's all in my head." She tapped her head repeatedly to make herself believe that there was nothing out here. Encountering those things once was bad enough for her and she'd rather not go through it again. "What else am I going to do?" Grace said worriedly. "If I can't wake up, then I'm not dreaming." The howling wind that blew through her body did little to ease her fears of never finding a way out. "Maybe I can try to find the tunnel to the Indian…" Grace clapped her hoof over her mouth remembering that she must never mention anything about the secret hideout of the Sioux tribe unless someone out here might be listening. Chief Thundercloud urged her not to tell anyone or let it slip out. "I mean, I gotta keep going." She roughly pushed herself against more oncoming gusts of wind whipping through.

In her memory banks, Grace remembered when she found her way into the cavern of the ancient Indian burial ground after escaping from the shape shifters. She had stepped foot in the area of the headstones and swiped a feather belonging to the headdress of Thundercloud which she had mistaken for another birds missing feather. Then there came the memory of walking through the cavern walls marked with painted symbols before being captured by warriors. If it weren't for her tears, the chief might not have spared her life from the flame. Now Grace was determined to find that cavern and see if the tribe might be able to help her in any way possible. Even if it meant being captured, she had to take that risk.

"If I find the cavern, I'll be safe," Grace blinked when she felt grains of sand enter her eyes caused by the windstorm. Every time she rubbed at them, the wind would keep blowing and it was becoming frustrating. "It sure is hard to see where I'm going with all this sand in my eyes." She fought her way through with her eyes shut tight to keep any more sand from stinging them. "The bad thing about deserts is that there's no water or not enough plants to eat. As long as their not the kind that snap back at you. I wouldn't bother with that."

Then the howling wind died down as Grace was able to slowly open her eyelids for a quick glimpse of her surroundings. All she viewed were more cactuses and high towering canyons casting shadows over the valley. But where was the cavern? The biggest problem happened when Grace looked down in surprise to find that the sand beneath had now covered her legs. The heavy amount of the sand prevented any further movement.

"Oh no," Grace panicked. "Please don't let me be stuck; not now." Again she attempted to pull out her legs, but to no avail. "The wind must have built up the sand while I was moving." She guessed. Keeping calm, Grace tried another technique she learned if one was trapped in quick sand. Carefully, she moved her right front foot before her left back foot. Then she moved on to the opposite position of moving her other legs. So far, it seemed to be working now that the sand was slipping off the upper part of her body.

Unbeknownst to Grace, she never paused to notice a silvery spectral mist slithering threateningly behind as she was finally able to pull herself out of the deep sand. Dusting every grain off her coat, Grace felt an intense cold sweep behind her nape that caused her to shiver inside. Whirling around, she gasped at the sight of a phantasmal, skeletal, creature hovering in the air before her. Grace stood petrified in her spot, not knowing if she should try to run or fight this creature.

Thinking fast, Grace warned the creature. "D…don't you dare come near me or I'll throw sand in your face!" Her hooves dug into the sand deeply for an oncoming attack.

Her threat didn't seem to work, especially when Grace felt her eyes roll up in her head and her vision went blurry. The cold air went deep into her chest and around her heart, causing it to thump loudly. It appeared that the shape shifter was drawing in her breath from its mouth straight out of her own mouth. A rush echoed in her ears like the sound of a waterfall as the roar of the shape shifter grew louder, sucking out her breath.

Grace tried to scream, but her voice became locked up in her throat. Looking downward at her front feet, Grace frowned at the creature and kicked a pile of dirt in its face. The shape shifter broke out of its concentration in draining her and screeched like a dying vulture.

"See, I warned you!" She began to throw more sand at the creature as it hovered further away from her. "That's right; eat my dust, air head!" The more sand she kicked at it, the less frightening the shape shifter grew until it suddenly vanished without a trace. "Well that takes care of the shape shifter," she said proudly, feeling as if she overcame a fear. "Now I know what to do in case it comes back." But her smile faded a bit when Grace felt that she should know better than to underestimate the dangers of this world too soon. "But now isn't the time to celebrate, I need to find that cavern before more of those things come after me."

"THERE SHE IS BOYS!"

A voice from the distance caused Grace to jump and whirl around to find that this scary experience was about to grow worse. In a panic, she dashed off when she realized that those four riders were the Red Eye Gang. She hadn't forgotten about those desperados. Their appearance meant that it was time for her to run as fast as she could. Despite not knowing where to turn, she had to run away from them. Ghostly bandits were not her idea for crime fighting. She wouldn't stand a chance against their strength. Maybe she could try to outrun them instead.

_This is just great!_ Grace thought in frustration. _The Red Eye Gang is all I need at this moment. Perhaps its time to show these ruffians how fast I go._

"DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!"

The voices were upon her as Grace felt her heart beat loudly in her ears. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that one of the riders was swinging a lasso in the air. With a desperate burst of speed, she managed to dodge a few boulders sticking out of the ground which gave her more height in trouncing. She dodged again when the lasso threw in her direction and instead wrapped around the boulder. This caused whoever threw it to lose his balance and fall from the galloping spectral horse. The riders kept going, knowing that their fallen comrade would catch up to them eventually.

"There goes one!" Grace shouted triumphantly. "Now there is three to go!" She turned to the right when she noticed that there was a deep ditch not too far away. She made a leap for it under the shadows of a plateau which covered its location. It seemed like the perfect spot for a hideout. Grace kept herself quiet when she listened to the ghost riders calling out to each other.

"Now where did that varmint go?" one of them hissed. "Coulda sworn she went this way!"

"Simmer down boys. I reckon she's hidin' somewhere under the shadows. I know them critters always think they can outsmart us before we catch'em." He sniffed the air. "I can smell her fear a foot away from where we stand."

Beneath the cover of the shadows, Grace crouched lower in the corner while holding her breath. Her heart had skipped a beat when the hoof beats drew closer.

"Alright let's keep lookin'. The reward will soon be ours when we catch her."

The riders disappeared behind the nearby canyons. When Grace felt certain that this was the perfect opportunity, she quietly climbed out panting.

"Phew, that was almost too close to call," she breathed. "But I wonder if that means the bounty is on me instead of the real culprits." She didn't like how one of them mentioned something about a reward on her. That of course could only mean one thing. "Callie must already know that I'm here. And now she wants to capture me."

With no time to waste, she dashed off to continue her search for the caverns of the Indian tribe. They were her only hope of safety and survival in this cursed region. The whole desert was open and there were hardly any hiding places left for her to take cover in case the Red Eye Gang showed up. But that mattered little to Grace when her eyes set upon a far off plateau with a black hole embedded.

"There it is!" Grace shouted in relief and dashed faster than usual. "At least I hope that's the right canyon." The open valley had still posed a few dangers when she ran. A shape shifter stalked below the ground and was preparing to jump at her. But the dust Grace left behind caused it to choke and retreat. A couple cactuses shot out needles like blow darts when she had passed. She even screamed when a scorpion the size of a barrel popped out of the sand and tried to sting her with its venomous tail. Grace turned and dodged the oncoming attack. It was becoming more difficult to avoid an attack from one side to the other, but Grace did not allow any of this to stop her from running toward the plateau. The trick was to not look back as she jumped a wide ravine without knowing that the same giant scorpion had been chasing her until it slipped off the edge and fell down below. The canyon grew closer as Grace focused on making to safety inside. The tribe couldn't possibly turn her away without helping her. "I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna make it!"

But Grace got her hopes up too soon when a strong vine-like lasso swooped out of nowhere and looped over her neck. She was yanked backward at such a powerful force that it nearly chocked her before slamming into the ground.

"YEHAW, I got her boys!" it appeared that the Red Eye gang had not yet given up when catching up on her. "Just like in the rodeo!"

Angry and frightened, Grace struggled to stand and run. But soon another rope yanked her neck preventing further movement. Evidently, Grace kicked and bucked in an attempt to escape. She reared and whirled wildly until another rope caught in both her hind ankles, causing her to fall back on the ground. Grace felt her anger rise when the riders were beginning to drag her away from the cavern and were likely preparing to turn her into Callie and the witches. Whatever evil plot Callie was up to gave her chills inside her stomach. All she knew was that the bandits were capturing her for some kind of reward.

"LET ME GO YOU RUFFIANS!" Grace hollered, struggling to pull out of the ropes. "I WON'T STAND FOR THIS, LET ME GO OR YOU"LL BE SORRY!"

"Aw quit yer hollerin' bovine!" One rider jumped off his spectral horse and stepped closer to Grace for a better look. Grace stopped struggling when she glanced upward at the bandit's red eyes as he studied her appearance. As she guessed inside her head, it was the leader of the Red Eye gang, Cliff Cleaver. "Yep, this young gal is the one alright." He took a hold of her cheek with his fingertips and pinched tightly, making Grace cringe. "She sure ain't skin n' bone." He moved her head upward and downward by her cheek until Grace was able to pull away from his hold. "Her hair holds still and…"

"Hey!" Grace spat when Cliff turned her over on her back and slammed his head onto her chest for a final examination.

"…I can hear a loud thump inside." He was mentioning about her heartbeat. The feeling of having a ghostly bandit pressing on her made Grace more uncomfortable and scared. "And it's thumpin' like a cattle stampede." With her front legs still free, Grace kicked at Cliff's face to keep him from any more examinations. Cliff was not too surprised by her move. "I thought yah would try that," he smirked. "Which means we're gonna have to fully restrain every movement in yer body."

A cold sweat broke when Grace watched the other three gang members jump off their horses and were stalking toward her menacingly. In a panic, Grace dragged herself across the sand with her front legs to escape, but the ropes on her did not slip; especially when one of the bandits held onto her neck securely while another tried to bind her with the rest of the ropes.

"Listen, I don't care who rules this world!" Grace spoke bravely, fighting in their grasp. "But you have no right kidnapping me like some sort of fugitive. I've done nothing wrong here, no matter what you say." Those were the only words Grace could think of as her back legs were held tightly together by the same rope that caught her ankles. The bandits only laughed at her helplessness altogether. Nothing she'd say would make them change their minds into letting her go. "Hey knock that off or I'll…"

Cliff yanked her suddenly by her bell and pulled her to his half covered face. "Or you'll what BOVINE!?" He gave her a look in his eyes that pointed daggers at her.

"Nothing," Grace said sheepishly, keeping her mouth shut. Her anger was replaced with worry when he glared.

Soon the poor heifer could no longer struggle or fight back as the bandits' strong hold left her body numbed up quickly. She couldn't even call out for help as her voice was too weak from exhaustion. Her breathing became limited. The pain in her head was building her vision became blurry before falling into darkness. The only other sound she could hear were terrible unknown shrieks, objects flying and raining down, and Cliff's own voice yelling. "RUN FOR IT GANG!" The galloping of hoof beats thundering the ground rang in her ears and echoed loudly in her chest, increasing her heart rate. The other voices she heard were wise, brave, and alert. Believing it was her imagination, the voices spoke to each other in a language she did not understand. Then she heard other voices and footsteps approaching. In an instant, Grace went off in a dead faint.


	5. The Ghost Dance Ceremony

**Chapter four: The Ghost Dance Ceremony**

"Wake up little one, wake up."

Fluttering her eyes timidly, Grace thought she could hear a wise voice calling out to her. Her mind slipped in and out of consciousness, not knowing what to think. At first her vision felt blurry. But after a few seconds later, she looked up to an elderly tanned skin woman whose face was crossed with deep wrinkles and thick gray hair in two braids. The woman wore a buckskin dress, a pair of moccasins, and a colored beaded necklace. In her hands, she held a buffalo's-horn bowl with something that filled Grace's nostrils.

"She's breathing," another womanly voice spoke softly.

As Grace slowly opened her eyes, she soon saw another woman with dark long hair, a broad forehead and dark arched brows. With her senses operating clearly, Grace became aware of her surroundings as she rose up with a start. Could she have finally made it to the Indian Burial Ground without realizing it?  
"Where am I?" Grace asked hastily. "What just happened?" Then she winced from a pain in her ribs which caused her to lie back down.

"Not so fast little one," the elderly woman said with a bit of harshness in her voice. She had spoken that way to hopefully keep Grace from rushing out the opening of the tent. "You have been gravely injured out in the desert. And it would be unwise to travel without giving your wounds time to heal."

"My wounds?" Grace said puzzled. "But I'm not that hurt. It's just a few bumps, see." Trying to stand up again, she slumped back down on the bear skin blanket from which she first laid. "Ouch, my ribs." Grace flinched in pain, clutching her chest.

"See what I'm talking about," the elderly woman said sternly. "Now stay where you are until I tell you to move."

The other younger woman helped Grace to lift her head while the elderly woman walked over to the fireplace to get spoonfuls of something that had been cooked. Whatever it was sure smelled tempting to Grace. Walking back, the elderly woman sat down on her knees beside Grace with the bowl in her hands.

"Here now, eat some of this vegetable broth," she held the spoon up to Grace. "You need your strength back."

Staring at the wooden spoon, the broth was a liquid light green with the tiniest green leaves. Grace felt a little disgusted, not knowing what to think. It may have smelt good, but didn't look tempting. She had never tasted any broth or soup before.

"Eat little one," the elder said sharply, still holding the spoon. "Unless you prefer meat instead." She gave a look that meant serious business.

By that expression, Grace opened her mouth and allowed the elder to spoon the bowl of broth and offer it to her. Tasting it, the broth was warm and creamy unlike anything the heifer had ever tasted. Smiling, Grace begged for more in which the elder did so. The two women had already known that it was not in a bovine's nature to eat meat. Nobody in the tribe could blame her for that. In fact, meat was not all that the Sioux tribe had eaten. Wild plants from the plains and deserts were also apart of the food chain as they both explained to Grace as she was still fed. The elder had introduced herself as Fire Flower, the medicine woman and the younger woman as Singing Bird. The more broth she ate, the less painful her ribs felt. It was as if there had been a secret ingredient added in it with a special healing antidote that Grace had never heard of. But whatever else was in the broth, Grace didn't care as long as it cured parts of the pain in her sides. Hunger was in control of her mind.

"If you're still hungry little one, we still have mashed roots, berries, and fruit. Would you like that?" Fire Flower asked, taking the empty bowl.

"Yes please ma'am," Grace nodded before letting out a light burp. "Oops, excuse me." Face blushing; she clamped her hoof over her mouth.

Fire Flower only smiled as she went to pull aside the teepee door flap to get more food for Grace. While she waited, there was still something else Grace wanted to know.

"Um, Singing Bird is that your name?" Grace asked the woman timidly without giggling. She knew it was rude to laugh at someone's name, no matter how funny it sounds; which is what Mrs. Calloway taught her. "Does anyone remember what happened before I woke up here?"

"A few of our warriors from outside said they heard your cries for help not too far away," Singing Bird sighed. "When we heard the news, some of us feared that more outsiders would come here and bring misfortune to our tribe. But when each of them spotted four strangers attempting to tie and capture you, arrows were fired toward their direction. They tried to awaken you, but you were unresponsive. So here you are. With what has happened out there, Fire Flower sensed that you were in grave danger and would possibly bring more danger to everyone you meet here."

"But how could that be so?" Grace said in outrage. "It's not my fault. I would never do anything to hurt you or this tribe. Don't get me wrong, but somehow I get the feeling that Callie has something to do with those vermin hunting me." Her eyes felt watery afterward. "How will I ever get back home now?"

"I don't know little one," Singing Bird said sadly, allowing Grace to rest her head on her lap and sob a little. "I wish I could help. But unless one of us has a vision of something, we won't ever know how. That's all I can tell you." Singing Bird stroked Grace's head knowing she needed to give comfort and reassurance.

"Come now little one," Fire Flower arrived back with a wooden tray of red delicious berries and turnips. "Now is not the time to shed tears. I've brought some more food for you." Setting it down, the two women watched as Grace feasted and forgot her troubles for a while. There was even a jug of water for her to drink out of. It was a wonderful and exquisite meal for her to enjoy. And within minutes, her stomach was like a room that had been filled enough. Therefore, Grace couldn't eat another bite.

"I see you two have managed to nurse her back to good health," a wise voice spoke by the entrance. It was Chief Thundercloud in the same grand feathered headdress, moccasins, and beaded colored shawl. With his arms crossed over his chest, he was neither pleased nor displeased with seeing her once again in their cavern; especially with the news he heard of the other four strangers in dark clothing chasing Grace. The news troubled him deeply. Staring over at Grace, he advised. "Your return to this world I fear may bring grave misfortune to all you meet. And you must not go outside at this moment, if those four strangers might return or may be waiting for you as I speak. You'll have to stay in here for now until we know it is safe again."

"Stay here," Grace gasped and jumped at what he said. "But I can't stay and hide in here forever. I have to find a way to get back home."

"It is not that simple little one," Thundercloud shook his head, his tone soft. "None of us can help you unless a member of this tribe has a vision. I'm sure these two must have told you that already."

Grace nodded her head in response to his comment. If what Thundercloud mentioned was true, then it would probably be unwise to leave this cavern without knowing where she was going; especially after the Red Eye Gang tried to capture her for Callie. And who knows if they're still outside waiting for her?

"I…I understand," Grace stuttered, trying to keep herself from shedding anymore tears. "But is there anything I can do while I'm here?"

"Hmm," Thundercloud mumbled thoughtfully, scratching his chin. Seeing that Grace had no fingers for weaving baskets, or capable of doing man's work, he requested. "Are you able to carry baskets with your teeth?"

"Of course, I've done that plenty of times on my home," said Grace, trying to smile. Then she looked confused. "How come?"

"My tribe is already making preparations for a ghost dance ceremony tonight," Thundercloud announced. "And everyone must work to make themselves useful. So why don't you help the women here until it is time. Can you do that?"

"Well…I'll do my best," was all Grace could think of. Knowing that she had often helped Pearl and Mrs. Calloway out on the farm, Grace could not argue against what Thundercloud mentioned about working to make yourself useful. "Wouldn't want to be bored doing nothing."

"Then I shall step outside for now," Thundercloud smiled lightly and pulled aside the door flap to leave.

Fire Flower and Singing Bird helped to show Grace how to carry a few blankets made from buffalo hides out to the gathering. Singing Bird went with Grace to show her where else the hides had to be placed since the heifer did not know her way too well. Everyone, including her had to help out with preparations. And so far carrying hides and baskets was simple and easy work. And with Grace doing part of it, the work wasn't out of force or demand, but a request. And it was unlike how her past enemies put her to work forcefully, without rest.

"Singing Bird," Grace whispered to the native as she helped to carry another buffalo hide over her back. "Not that I'm being nosy, but what is the purpose of the Ghost Dance ceremony?"

"Well the Ghost Dance started out as a central ritual of a new religious movement that focused on the restoration of our past and to further separate ourselves from the white men's civilization being forced upon our people," Singing Bird elaborated, handing a basket to another woman. "The movement became active within a number of tribes and mirrored other attempts that would fend off what threatened our nations."

"It was also a resurrection of the dead, a bringing back of the customs, and holding on to our way of life," added Coyote Tail, a bare-chested warrior in long leather pants, moccasins, dark hair, and animal prints on his arms and face. His tone turned dark as he continued. "Because of the white men, we faced losing our freedom, overtaken of our land, our beliefs and existence." He began setting down a few hides for other natives to sit upon during the Ghost Dance. "Wish they never set foot on our land."

"Don't mind Coyote Tail," Singing Bird whispered behind Grace. "He is one of our bravest warriors, yet short tempered. None of us blame him for holding a grudge."

Now that Grace had helped out enough, it was time for everyone to be ready for the ceremony as soon as possible. She followed Singing Bird back into the same tent she awoke in where Fire Flower waited with a few bowels of paint by her knees and other clothing set on her left.

"Please sit down little one," Fire Flower motioned for Grace to sit on her haunches the way a dog sits naturally. "And don't move while I paint your face."

"Paint my face?" Grace widened her eyes feeling a bit surprised that the medicine woman might have wanted to change her face. "But I like my face the way it should be, why paint it?"

"It is part of showing respect and gratitude during each ceremony," Fire Flower spoke firmly. "And don't worry. This paint comes off easily."

Grace patiently watched the medicine woman mix some paints and with a soft brush painted soft blue streaks across her furry blond face. Then a large pink symbol of the sun was painted on the left side of her rib. With that finished, Singing Bird attached a deerskin shawl over the heifer's shoulders, soft, clean, and new. Then she slipped a necklace of turquoise beads over the head and a tight headband with a single feather sticking out. Before that, the cowbell had to be removed since it was likely that the ringing would disrupt the ceremony. At first Grace was reluctant to be without her bell, but Fire Flower told her she would wear it again after the dance was over. Feeling both confused and worried, Grace wanted to make the best of this situation, yet all this ceremony stuff seemed strange and she was unsure if it would help her in any way to get back home. While Singing Bird brushed her blond hair with her fingers, a painful lump formed in the heifer's throat, but she would not cry, no matter how hopeless or sad she felt. Lost in her thoughts, Grace did not hear or notice at least four more Indian women enter the tent since they were quiet. When she did notice, it felt like a shock to find that they were watching her be fixed up.

"There, you're all finished," Singing Bird said softly. "Would you like to look at yourself?"

"Yes please," Grace answered without looking at her. Her gaze was locked onto the earthly ground.

Fetching a large circular glass-like mirror, the Indian woman held it down straight in front of Grace so that she would get a better look at how well she was dressed for the ceremony. Staring at the reflection of her new look, it sent a wave of astonishment throughout Grace.

"Is that me?" she wailed, moving her face closer. "I don't think any of the girls at home would recognize me this way?"

The women chuckled lightly at what she said. All faces in the tribe were considered recognizable whether they had markings on their face or not. And it seemed rather silly for Grace to say something like that.

"No, I'm serious. I look so different."

"Depending on how you look at yourself, a mirror only reflects how you appear on the outside," Fire Flower stated. "But if you ever look harder, you might find the truth."

"The truth about what?" Grace asked earnestly. So many questions swam in her head.

"Little one, that is one thing I cannot tell you," the medicine woman responded respectively. "When the right time comes, you'll find out for yourself. Now rise up and follow me. Everyone is waiting."

Walking outside the tent, Grace followed Fire Flower, Singing Bird, and the rest of the women out where all the tribe members gathered around a huge circle sitting atop buffalo hides. It didn't take long for Grace to remember that this may be the same gathering where she had been tied up on a spit. With some of them staring at Grace with serious expressions, it made her nervous. She had hoped they were not thinking that she was still considered an intruder bound to bring misfortune if she stayed. When Singing Bird set down a soft buffalo hide on the ground for her, Grace sat on all fours reluctantly. If only those faces could see that she meant no harm to this tribe, even if she had mistakenly taken Thundercloud's feather the last time she entered the cavern. Fire Flower went to sit somewhere else while Singing Bird decided to sit next to Grace.

Moments later Chief Thundercloud marched out of his tent and sat himself upon another buffalo hide. He would be the first to speak before anyone else.

"For many generations," he announced in his wise voice. "We have once lived in peace, harmony, guidance, and wisdom for all living things made by the Creator. He made the sky for the birds, the water for the fish, and created food for all His creatures. Even during the darkest of times, we must always respect and give thanks for all His creations." All members of the tribe gave signs of thanks for everything offered to them. Even if the Sioux tribe knew that they were lost souls who would never leave their homelands for spiritual reasons, giving thanks to the Creator had never been forgotten. And as long as prayers were kept, no evil would enter their sacred hideout. "Yes, we suffered dreadfully from the loss of our freedom, and parts of our homelands. And the ceremony of the Ghost Dance was done as a movement to rid the earth of the white man's civilization after a natural catastrophe and the return of our brave warriors bringing back our old way of life. But we would soon learn that this came at a terrible cost. The lives of many men, women, and children were lost. That was then, this is now. Only this time, it is not the white man whom we should be concerned with. It is another evil force outside our grounds that has brought this outsider into our world once more."

With all faces looking over at Grace, her face blushed with shame and it was causing her to wish she could hide. An outsider on the run from bad ghosts had been known to be a sign of grave misfortune. Yet Thundercloud wasn't finished speaking.

"However…" he maintained as everyone turned their attention back to him. "The fault is not hers to take. And we may never know how else she was brought here. But she must never leave this cavern when it is dark. Other spiritual dangers are known to be active then. And our only hope to help her would be in a vision of truth. To ensure that no outside force enters, the ceremony must be performed." Raising both his hands high in the air, he concluded. "And now let the Ghost Dance begin."

In the center of the gathering circle, a fire erupted out of the pile of stones that nearly caused Grace to jump from surprise. She watched as a couple members rose from their seating positions to begin dancing around the fire in slow shuffling movements singing and chanting. Unlike most of the ceremony dances, the Ghost Dance needed no drumming or other musical instruments; only singing and chanting. This had gone on for more than half an hour in which Grace suddenly felt some sort of strange desire to join in on the dance. Only problem was, her legs were feeling a bit numb from sitting too long without moving a muscle. So she hoped turning on her side to flex her muscles would help. When they were flexed out enough, she went back to sitting and watching. Then Grace shook her head to forget about dancing. It may look like fun, but the steps and moves seemed impossible for her to do. One false move would ruin the dance and ceremony altogether. For now her only fun came from fantasizing about joining the group. In her opinion, she thought the singing in this ceremony was enjoyable and unlike any other singing she heard before; much better than Alameda Slim's yodeling. Even though she couldn't understand the words, it was still enjoyable.

"Care to dance?" an Indian man called Soaring Eagle suddenly appeared before Grace offering her a dance in the group.

"Me?" Grace was astonished. "But I don't know how."

"Go on," Singing Bird nudged Grace a bit for encouragement. "It's not that hard."

"But I…WHOA!" before Grace could decline, she was pulled from the seating spot and found herself to be following the group of dancers. "This isn't what I had in mind you know." She mumbled, trying to keep herself from accidentally stepping on someone's foot. This type of dancing was new to her, unlike dancing along to a fiddle playing at a barn dance. So far, Grace felt a wave of relief flow through her mind as she soon found out that she had been doing quite well. The steps weren't as difficult as she thought they would be, and she had to admit that she wished this dance would never end. Grace was incredibly spellbound by the singing of the Indians. What she had not known was that no one ever mentioned that the Sioux tribe would often keep the Ghost Dance going for three or four more days.

However, the dance was not to last another hour. Next to Thundercloud sat Fire Flower with her eyes closed rocking back and forth as if she had fallen asleep and lost in a dream world. Grace, too spellbound by the singing did not notice. Already she had begun to act as though she had lived in this tribe her whole life. Only Thundercloud noticed something going on when Fire Flower shook rigidly and opened her eyes wide along with letting out a heavy cough. It was a sign telling him that Fire Flower awoke from a vision dream and it was time to put the Ghost Dance to a halt. Cocking his head in surprise, he rose up.

Holding his arms wide in the air, he cried. "Hold everything!" Everyone had suddenly stopped dancing, except Grace who did not snap out of it until she bumped into a man accidentally. Luckily he was still on his feet enough for him to give her a light slap behind the head.

"What…what happened, where did the dancing go?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Shh, our chief has something to say," the man answered. "Weren't you listening?"

Chief Thundercloud waited until everyone had their attention on him and fell silent.

"My people," he announced. "One of our dearest members has awoken from a vision dream." He turned to the medicine woman. "Fire Flower, tell us what you saw."

Grace had then realized she had nearly forgotten about why she had been brought in her the first place. A dark force was likely hunting her down and all she thought about was dancing and singing. How could she forget?

All the men and women who had danced stepped back to allow Fire Flower to come toward the large fireplace and pour a handful of powder onto it while chanting in a different language. A plume of smoke rose from the flames and started to change shape for Fire Flower to study.

"In my dream, I heard a dark voice; a voice that desires the life of an innocent. And she sits alone too powerless to go after that life herself. So a bounty is offered to one who can capture the innocent one in order to complete her dark ritual to live again."

* * *

**AN**: _At last an update on this story. Whether I get reviewed or not, I plan on finishing every one of them until it is done. That is how I always do it. It might take me a little while longer though to think of a way to continue since I am finishing up a final scene for my short film. And I've done a little research myself to learn about the ceremonies practiced by many Native American groups to find out the purpose of them._


	6. Setting Out

**Chapter five: Setting out**

The fires formed images of scary witches having a discussion on where and how to capture the pure soul once she arrives in this world. The thing that frightened Grace the most was when the fires changed into the shape of the four ghostly bandits riding on their phantom horses. The terrible expressions on their hidden red eyed faces were chilling enough to send her taking cover behind Singing Bird shivering.

"Whoever becomes desperate enough for the bounty will never stop hunting that life," Fire Flower went on. "Once she is captured, all could be lost." Once the shapes in the smoke retreated, the fire lowered and returned to a normal fireplace.

"Then…that means she's the one they're after!" Coyote Tail pointed to Grace still hiding herself behind Singing Bird. All eyes turned toward her…possibly in accusation.

"I…I would n…never do anything to cause you all harm," Grace stuttered nervously, sticking her head out. "Honest. You must believe me."

"I do believe you!" Chief Thundercloud spoke for her defense. "And I believe that we should still help you in anyway we can. Whatever else Callie wants with you, it can't be good." He turned his eyes to the rest of the tribe. "My brothers, although it is true that this gold heifer is the one those strangers are hunting down, we cannot under any circumstances abandon her to them. She may be an outsider to our tribe, but she'll need our protection before she leaves here. Starting at the first light of dawn, well have to change her appearance. If those strangers were to return, they must never know it is her."

"How will they not know me?" Grace asked, stepping out. "I can't possibly become invisible or make myself smaller. How would I change my appearance to fool them?"

"You will find the answers to those questions tomorrow morning," Chief Thundercloud replied. "It is too late and too dangerous for traveling tonight. The shape shifters are known to be more restless at this time. We all need rest for now. This will all start during the first light. But if anyone else learns of something from outside this cavern, inform me. Until then, I'll see you in the morning."

All the tribe members sat up from their seating positions, gathered the buffalo blankets, and went inside their teepees. Singing Bird led Grace back to the teepee where she would be sleeping. Once inside, the woman fastened the flaps to the opening. Fire Flower had already unrolled large buffalo blankets on both sides of the fireplace. Before climbing in, the two women helped her undress and remove the paint from her body and face. The medicine woman slept on the end. When Singing Bird climbed in, she offered Grace a spot next to her. Thanking her, Grace lay down, pulled the hide over her shoulders, and tried to go to sleep.

But with every word she remembered from Chief Thundercloud, she felt troubled and restless. There was no doubt that if she stayed here any longer or in any other area in Callie's region, she was bound to bring grave misfortune as long as she is considered a fugitive. Shivering a bit from the effects of cold and fear, Grace still didn't want to believe that she was once again trapped in the land of the dead. If only it were another nightmare; one that she couldn't wake up from that is. Then a thought suddenly hit Grace. That means if she can't wake up in the mortal world, then she could be trapped here for all eternity. She had guessed that her entrance was caused by a dark spell from Callie's minions. There was no other explanation.

_So Callie has sent her minions out to capture and devour my essence huh_. Grace thought sourly. _I see how it is, she is too much of a coward to do it herself in fear of losing her powers and now she wants to live again. So that's what the dark ritual ceremony was all about. Why should it be me? There must be some mistake. I don't want to be the chosen one for Callie to take. Is there no possible way to defeat her?_ Shutting her eyes, Grace pushed all her troubled thoughts aside for now and fell into a deep sleep. There was nothing more for her to do but wait and see what her next task brings.

* * *

_Outside the deserts of Phantom Valley_

"It's quiet…a little too quiet I mean," Cliff Cleaver said lowly, gazing sinisterly at the mysterious cavern a mile from atop a sand dune. He and his goons were sitting atop their spectral horses waiting to see if anyone or anything steps out of there. "That bovine will have to come out sooner or later. She knows she can't hide forever."

"But boss, we can't just go in and get her," Toothless Tim reminded him. "If I didn't know better, I'd say the caverns protected by some sort o' barrier or somethin'. I bet it's those Injuns."

"I know that!" Cliff snapped. "And it seems we have underestimated the secret magic behind their ceremonies. If we can't go in, then we'll wait here as long as it takes. I reckon those Injuns ain't never gonna give that bovine up without a fight. After all them massacres started ages ago, their fighting spirits will never die."

"You must mean the Sioux uprisin' from 1862," Blackheart Bill affirmed. "I remember the day when many men, women, and children were killed by the cunnin' Injuns. And the tribe mentions that it was all cause o' that blasted government given'em the poorest o' lands to live on. So they take it out on the white man's families. A lot o' bad blood if yah know what I mean."

"There are two sides to every story partner," Cliff said darkly. "And there will be other times to listen on them later. Keep your red eyes out for any movement you see comin' outta there."

The Red-Eye Gang still perched on top of the sand dune, waited throughout the night refusing to quit on their bounty for Grace.

* * *

_Inside the cavern_

"It is time little one," Fire Flower shook Grace awake at the first light of dawn. "You must wake up now."

"Oh no, morning already," Grace moaned. "Can't I just sleep five more minutes?"

"There is no more time for rest. We must help you prepare for your journey far away from this place."

"My journey?" Grace woke up startled and threw the blanket off her. "I almost forgot. But where do I start?"

"Follow me and I will explain everything," the medicine woman ordered, motioning for Grace to follow her outside the tent and to a group where other Indians had bowls of the greenest paint ever mixed. "Now stand in the middle and stay there. We can't have you going outside in that color." She was referring to the color of Grace's blond hide. Every so-called fugitive had to keep their identity a secret for safety reasons.

Standing in the middle of the group, Grace watched the Indians dip their fingers and brushes into the bowls. Then in an instant, each of them started spreading it all over her body from head to foot. Grace started to let out a few giggles as some hands were rubbing her chest and stomach in a ticklish sort of manner.

"Heh heh, please not there, that tickles," Grace chuckled, feeling a wet movement of paint soothing all around her neck.

Then came the part where the hands moved to her face rubbing around her snout, behind her ears and over her closed eyes. Grace did not like it, yet remained still as she believed the Indians knew what they were doing. Not a drop of paint had entered her eyes, ears or nostrils as she sniffed at the scent. Then she squirmed the moment when hands moved over to her rump and tail.

"Hey, watch it there," she said sourly, glancing over her shoulder. The painters ignored her comment and continued spreading the green paint until her entire rump was covered without a spot of yellow to be seen. There was not enough time to be bothered by her protests or complaints while there were other matters for her to attend to. If Grace were to get out of this region without getting captured, she'd have to let the Indians finish painting to hide her real color. Within minutes, the process was over.

"I think that should do," Coyote Tail remarked, holding up a cylinder glass mirror for Grace to see her new appearance. "Well, what do you think of your new appearance?"

Grace jumped in surprise to find that her beautiful blond hide was transformed into a dark emerald-color. First the clothes she wore for the ceremony and now this strange new color.

"My hide," she gasped as if she lost parts of her fur from a scalping. "What have you done? Is it permanent?"

"Don't panic little one," Fire Flower said sharply. "We have painted your body to fool the descendents of this region into thinking you are one of them. In fact, just another animal corpse wandering about like all the other ghosts and zombies out there. I know you don't like the idea of having an unnatural color soaking your lovely coat but believe me, this may be the only way to keep you safe."

"Hmm," Grace mumbled thoughtfully, gazing at her reflection again. "I may not like it. And it's not my type. But if it shall fool those ruffians as you say, then I'm willing to do what it takes to get out of here safely."

Fire Flower smiled proudly and said gently. "Then it seems you are not as naïve as I thought you'd be. At first you were desperate to leave here without thinking of the consequences awaiting you. It takes great strength and courage to have patience when seeking your destiny. No one ever mentioned it would be easy. Many ages ago, we as a tribe faced many tests of bravery throughout our lives."

"Fire Flower is right," Chief Thundercloud remarked, showing himself with his staff in hand. "If you want to succeed on your journey, you must have patience. And I'm sure you've faced many difficult tests before haven't you."

Grace nodded. It was true that she faced many difficult tests in her life. She thought back to the life of living with her cruel owner, but never let his brutality change who she was. Then there was the time when she, Maggie and Mrs. Calloway went out to capture Alameda Slim to save their farm. But the most difficult challenge was learning to cope with the sad events of the past and move on; after she had that nightmare two years ago. But now she learned that was life; full of dangers and challenges waiting for her.

"Chief Thundercloud," Grace began, her mind full of other questions to be answered. "When you had set me free last time, why did you let me go forward to Callie's mansion instead of stopping me? Didn't you already know she could never be reasoned with?"

"It was your choice little one," Thundercloud answered grimly. "You were full of determination and encouragement to reach that place despite the dangers along the road. But nothing we said could make you change your mind. I would have thought that you perished at the end, but somehow you're still alive. Even I don't know how that is possible. But Fire Flower has told me that she had another vision while she slept. It may be of help to you."

They both turned to Fire Flower as she stepped forward to explain. "Little one, in my dream I saw a dark mysterious island with four stone pillars attached to the ground. And in the center of those stones lies a black crystal lying on a boulder. I can't be sure what secrets are within, but I do believe it may hold the key to what you are seeking. In my opinion, this mysterious island is where your journey may end."

Grace gulped nervously uncomfortable with what Fire Flower told her. How would a simple black crystal help her out of this supernatural world? It sent shivers down her spine.

"I can sense a lot of fear in you little one," said Fire Flower respectfully. "And I can understand why that is." She put a hand on Grace's left shoulder when she saw the fear through her worried eyes. "We all feel frightened sometimes. And that's another part of life. But we also learn to face those fears. If you don't, they may haunt you for the rest of your life."

"You're right," Grace finally spoke with determination in her voice. "I must admit I don't feel too brave doing this, but I won't let anything try to stop me. I've been here before and survived through many perils. And I believe I can do it again."

"Well then little one, before you go I must ask that you wear this sacred guardian stone around your neck so that no evil spirits or dark magic will attack you spiritually. It is more powerful than a light crystal and will glow to warn you of danger nearby." Fire Flower held up a lavender type crystal rock carried by a strong rawhide string and threw it over Grace's neck. "However, it might not protect you from bondage spells; unless whoever controls it to try and kill you, then the stone will cause the spell to backfire. Remember to keep that in mind throughout your journey. And never under any circumstances ever take it off."

"Will I have to leave through the cave entrance?" asked Grace anxiously.

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea," replied Thundercloud, shaking his head. "Although you are well disguised and protected by the sacred guardian stone, you must leave through another way if there should be any outside force waiting for you by the other entrance. And you shall have to leave your cowbell here or else the enemies will recognize you. Fire Flower will show you the way out. Just follow close to her and you won't become lost. And now this is where we say goodbye."

"I always hate goodbyes," Grace said sadly. "Every time that happens, it seems like forever." Because she had been taken care of and protected from harm by these kind native people, Grace wanted to so much to get to know each one.

"You don't have much choice little one," Thundercloud asserted. "It is too dangerous to stay here yourself. This is where we belong now, and always will. Our bodies may be dust, but our spirits will never die. Now hurry and don't fall back."

Shooing Grace away, all the natives watched her follow Fire Flower down a different dark tunnel lit up by the sacred stone Grace wore around her neck. The tribe wished her good luck on her journey, hoping she'll make it back home safely. Not only did they help Grace out to keep bad luck out of their cavern, but it had always been their duty to protect anyone in danger, no matter what the consequences are.

* * *

_Outside_

Within a short time Fire Flower managed to lead Grace out of the tunnel and out into the deserts of Phantom Valley. The sun in this area shone bright in a chilling way rather than having Grace feel lighthearted as she would have in the mortal world. Walking along a trail beside the medicine woman, Grace was relieved to find that no shape shifters were coming her way or hear strange echoes amongst the dead trees, animal skulls, or sand dunes. She reckoned it must have been the effect of the guardian stone keeping them away from sucking out her soul. She now wondered if the deserts had been this way from the start or if there was more behind this world than she knew about.

"Oof!" Grace grunted, not paying attention to where she walked. "Oops sorry about that." Realizing she accidentally bumped into Fire Flower lightly, her face blushed.

"This is as far as I can go little one," Fire Flower informed. "After this, you are on your own. All you have to do is follow this trail that goes straight ahead until it ends at the Green Sea. In my vision, I saw a hooded man standing next to a boat. He should take you to a village beyond the seas from here. I don't know the name of it, but there you should be safe. That is all the helpful advice I can give you, for I only know what I see in my dreams. Some of them are visions, some are warnings, and some are memories of long ago."

"I hate to keep asking, but do you know how much time I have to reach this island of the black crystal?" Grace asked urgently. "I'm worried that if I don't make it back home in time, my family will think I've fallen under some sort of deadly sleeping disease known to be incurable."

"A sleeping disease?" Fire Flower said with a frown on her face. "I've never heard of such a thing like that. However, there were times when the white men not only brought with them their tools of fire to our land, but with them a terrible sickness none of us ever heard of. A sickness of fever, blisters, and smallpox had sickened most of the tribes and many of our people had died from it. Not even the most powerful medicine man or woman had the medicine to cure the illnesses. My songs of healing had no effect either. Few of us survived afterward." Her tone was cold and emotionless. "Since we don't have much time to talk anymore, I will tell you that this world has a different time than in the mortal world. Depending on how many days you spend here, those days would only be the many hours you are under the sleeping curse placed upon you in the mortal world. But you must still hurry. That is all I can tell you."

"I guess I better not ask any more questions," Grace said timidly, feeling Fire Flower's stern look burning into her. She thought it best to keep it to herself from now on.

"Have a safe journey little one. And remember to keep the guardian stone on at all times. Now go…go!" Shooing her, Fire Flower turned to walk back to the cavern.

Grace scampered toward the trail in between two canyons as quickly as her legs could carry her. For all she knew, this road could be leading to unknown danger.

* * *

**AN**: _I hope everyone has had a Happy Halloween. I know I did. I tried to update this chapter on Friday, but I got a little too busy decorating and baking the Halloween treats. And because I had no lightbulbs for my lamp, I couldn't work on the computer since the darkness around would hurt my eyes. I better let that be a reminder that I should do those activities a few days before Halloween or Christmas so I won't have to be too busy._


	7. Information at the Library

**Chapter six: Information at the Library**

When Grace could no longer keep up with running, she decided to stop short in the midst of the path and rest a bit. It was the fear inside her that caused her to want to run away as quickly as possible.

"I don't know how much more of that running I can take," Grace said dryly, panting in between breaths. "Perhaps I should walk from now on. It might not be as fast as running, but my legs need rest. And who knows how many more miles it is to the ocean." Staring at her guardian stone, there was no reaction to it or glimmering which meant no danger was near so far. "Thank goodness I'm wearing this to protect me at all times. Fire Flower warned me to never take it off under any circumstances. And I can understand why that is in this world." She sat on the hard sand for a while, keeping her eyes and ears out for any sign of danger approaching. All she could hear was vultures cawing far in the distance along with the soft wind blowing amongst the dead trees.

When her legs regained some of their strength, Grace started to move out again, this time at a slow steady pace. She didn't want to run out of energy again by overdoing it with a gallop. Her hooves kicked up a bit of sand and clung to her ankles, but she was too busy concentrating on the path ahead to notice. Part of her wished that she was still back in the cavern of the Sioux tribe since it made her feel safe to know that the Indians were actually a kind natured people only wanting to be left in peace. Sure what they tried to do to her last time was wrong, but only because of a misunderstanding. But Grace knew she couldn't just hide forever like that; especially now that someone sinister may still be tracking her at this time. The further she walked, the foggier it became as Grace thought she caught the scent of salt water somewhere.

"That must be the ocean I smell," Grace said in a small glimmer of hope. "But if I can't see through this fog, the least I can do is follow the scent and I'm out of here." The fog grew dense as Grace moved near, but she didn't care. It was not thick enough to keep her from seeing well or stop her from tracking the scent of saltwater close by.

Within moments, the fog began to clear and in replacement of the sand dunes and canyons of Phantom Valley stood a dock similar to a harbor out at sea. And at the end of the docks stood a tall dark cloaked man on top of a small boat. Like a statue, he responded to nothing around him as any living mortal would do.

Gulping nervously, Grace hesitated to move forward until she thought she heard the thundering of hoof beats echoing from behind. Could that be the sound of the Red Eye Gang coming this way?

"Oh no, the Red Eye Gang!" She shrieked, now racing to the docks. "I almost forgot that they were after me. That must mean they know I'm out here again." In her mind she guessed that the vicious gang sensed nothing living inside the Indian cavern and came to the conclusion that Grace had escaped through another way without being caught in their grasp. She pressed her ears forward so that hopefully she wouldn't have to listen to how close the hoof beats were at this point. Reaching the docks, Grace stood before the cloaked man.

"Excuse me sir," Grace said uneasily. "I was wondering if you could take me to a village far beyond the sea."

"It shall be done," the cloaked man answered in a grim voice. "Just hop in and I will take you to your destination. Hurry now; I don't have all eternity you know."

Quickly, Grace hopped aboard the boat, even though she thought that the boat seemed like it would be too weak to hold her. But to her surprise, it only tipped back and forth a bit. The boat stayed afloat as if it were a large ship carrying a group of voyagers.

"I think I see somethin' boys!" a voice from afar sneered as the hoof beats were increasing.

"Oh please hurry sir, they're coming closer!" Grace begged the hooded man as she sat down in the middle.

"As you wish," the man replied.

With a long pole he held in both skeletal hands, he pushed the boat far from the docks and onto the sea currents. Grace looked back at the docks to find that the Red Eye Gang arrived too late to catch up on her and were staring madly at her departure from Callie's region.

"Ha, see you later Red Eye Gators!" Grace called out to them in a playful taunt. "Hope it's not too soon!" After that remark, she made a face at them now that she would be far from this region in the next few hours or so, depending on how far it is to the village. Grace didn't feel the least bit frightened of mocking the gang. Those goons would have no way of crossing the ocean like that. Nor could they all fit into this small boat altogether if they wanted to. At least that's what Grace thought.

Cliff Cleaver stared at the boat long enough for it to grow smaller and smaller until it could no longer be seen. Rage boiled within his shaking fists after Grace mocked at them like that. He shook violently like an active volcano ready to blow off its top.

"Aw, there goes the bounty on the bovine!" Heartless Henry groaned. "What're we to do now?"

"I don't know go back n' tell Callie she escaped before we could catch up to her?" Blackheart Bill suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"We will do no such thing yah flea bitten dogs!" snapped Cliff. "One way or another, we're gonna cross this ocean one at a time. We'll be leavin' our horses behind; they'll find their own way back to Ghost Town. And when we get back, we'll whistle for them." Then he concluded in a low menacing growl. "If that bovine thinks she's finally rid o' us that easily, she better guess again. Cause we'll be sailin' round this ocean till she comes." He let out a roar of wicked laughter.

* * *

_At the sea_

For two hours, Grace sat down in the boat patiently while the cloaked man kept on paddling in the salt water without growing tired. Facing the open sea, the fog made things difficult for Grace to see how far it was to this village she was to reach. Even if she didn't know how much longer it would take, perhaps the boat man knew. Yet his appearance kept causing her shoulders to shiver nervously if she desired to ask him how much further it would take to reach their destination.

_I certainly hope this creepy boat man is not leading me into a trap_. Grace thought, peering off into the dense foggy horizon. But Fire Flower didn't mention anything dangerous about him, so she had nothing to fear from the boat man. It seems his only job for all eternity is to take folks across the sea.

"Here is where I drop you off stranger," the boat man announced as Grace saw that the boat had been heading toward the direction of what appeared to be a few lights. Not only that, but Grace thought that she could finally see houses showing from behind the vanishing fog. In a few seconds, the boat man pulled up to the mainland for a stop.

"Thanks for the ride Mr. Boat man," Grace said respectively, hopping off the boat and onto the deck.

"Farewell stranger," the boat man waved out to her. "And be sure to tell them a newcomer has come to stay." He chuckled darkly and paddled away to disappear to the sea once more.

"Well there's the kind of sailor you don't wanna meet any day," Grace murmured, feeling uneasiness at his deportation. "Never mind him, he's done his job. Now I must find out the name of this village."

She flexed her muscles a bit to ease the aches from the long hours she sat in the boat. The boat trip felt boring for her when there was nothing for her to see through the thick cloud of fog. This was good, due to the fact that there were no encounters with legendary sea creatures or other dangerous predators. As long as she made it here safely, that's all that mattered to her. Shrugging her shoulders, Grace walked on the docks until the end led to a signpost labeled _Welcome to Hollow Town_.

"Welcome to Hollow Town," Grace read. "At least I know the name. But where's the best place to find information around here?"

Gazing at her surroundings, Hollow Town was not as big a town as she thought. Moving down the road, there were rows of quant wood and stone houses that dotted the streets. This seemed like a nice kind of village to visit in daylight for a happy stroll, only she saw no citizens walking down the streets anywhere. Deciding not to let that thought bother her, she figured that most of the residents were inside asleep at least.

"Hello, hello, anybody out there!" Grace called out, hoping to receive an answer from somewhere. "I hate it when I have to walk the streets while it's all quiet. It's creepy and uncomfortable."

She couldn't help how quiet and dark the streets grew, save for a few torches and some lampposts lit by candles inside. Grace did notice however a sign on one of the buildings labeled Hollow Town Library. To her luck, a light was on inside meaning one resident was possibly still awake. Since it was doubtful for her to find someone on the streets for information, Grace decided to give it a try by going inside.

"The library is a great place to find information I need," Grace whispered in relief.

Entering through the unlocked doors, she found that the lights were lit by oil lamps set on a few of the tables. Grace marveled at the great number of books on shelves, dusted with a couple of cobwebs. Some were open on podiums and piled on tables.

"Wow so many books to choose from," said Grace as if she were a resident searching to check out a book. "It's like this library hasn't opened up in years. Hasn't anyone heard of a little house work?"

"It's because I haven't had much time to clean it."

A manly voice made Grace jump and whirl around to face the librarian's desk where there stood a tall skinny man behind. He did appear to be human, only that his skin was bright blue instead of light peach. His head was clean bald, except for a few remaining down below the back of his neck. He hand a crooked nose, long white moustache, and pointed chin. His clothes resembled that of villagers from the Revolutionary period during the 1600s through the 1700s with a white shirt and brown vest and dark brown pants. His serious expression made Grace rigid.

"Oh I…I am so…so sorry sir," Grace stuttered nervously. "I wasn't so sure if this…this library was open or not. I didn't mean to break in, I…"

"…only wanted to find information?" the man cut in. "I find it odd that a green bovine like yourself would want to be doing that sort of thing."

"How did you know?" Grace raised an eyebrow at him.

"I heard your voice all the way back in my office," the old man replied. "I am Mr. Hank Henderson. But you can call me Mr. Henderson if you wish. Now how may I be of assistance?"

"Well…I was hoping to find some…" Grace turned her head left and right seeing that there were no labels for her to know which might have been mystery, classic, drama, horror, western, or history. "…some books on the history of this town. Do you know where I can find them?"

"I know just the books you'd need to see," Mr. Henderson pushed aside the small door from behind the desk and picked up a candle holder.

Grace watched him walk over to a small shelf and blow the dust away to see the titles. He mumbled thoughtfully browsing to find the right one to pick.

"These should be helpful ma'am," Mr. Henderson answered, holding a pile of six books and placing them roughly on one of the tables. "Remember to put them back on that shelf when you're done. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got paperwork to look over." He went back behind his desk to read.

Grace decided to look at each title to see which one might be more helpful for understanding. The titles on each side read _History of Hallow Town_, _Legends and Myths of the Colonial Period_, _The Salem Witch Trials_, _Halloween facts and fiction_, _Legacy of the Black Arts_, _The Legend of Callie and other Tales_.

"Aha, there's the kind of information I need," Grace whispered gladly. "I wonder if Callie has any weaknesses of some sort. There must be something in here about that."

Picking out the title The Legend of Callie and other tales, Grace turned to the first chapter, turning the pages with her tail. From there she read on.

_In a time long ago, many tales have been told of witches and warlocks from across the countryside of Salem, Massachusetts. But there never was a tale quite so superstitious or haunting than that of a well known witch called Callie Coven. It all started with an old widow who lived alone in a damp cottage on top of the hills near the cemetery. She was not rich with money, she had no children of her own, and she never bothered to make friends in the village. But the one unnatural thing about her was that she always kept her face hidden behind a theatre mask. Whenever she was questioned of these things, Callie would only respond with a snake-like hiss._

_Having lived alone all her life, Callie's main interests laid within books of magic, Wicca, spells, rituals, and the black arts. The townspeople did not yet know of this, but found her actions quite disturbing. No resident ever saw Callie come out of her house during the day several months after she had been witnessed by someone to have drawn blood from a donkey. Like a vampire, the old woman only appeared each night to buy supplies from the general store. When questioned about the donkey incident from the store owner, Callie told him it was nobody's business and fled as if someone were stalking her._

_Behind the closed doors of her cottage, Callie had been conducting in experiments with dark spells of magic to find the secret to creating the Elixir of Life. After many failed attempts, Callie decided to set out on a journey in search of other residents who practiced in the art of dark magic to help her find the right ingredients. She searched from town to town until a group of women her age were conducting on a ritual out in the woods where no villagers stepped foot upon. It turned out that they were searching for the same evil ingredient she was. At first they declined to have her join their group, but only by removing her mask to reveal her deformities somehow had them change their minds. By nighttime, the women decided that they would follow Callie back to the village in Salem now that the villagers in their own town were arousing suspicion of their actions._

"Interesting history on Callie," Grace mused, turning the page onto the next chapter_._

_After Callie's return to Salem, she and the other women spent the next couple of months learning astrology, the knowledge of herbs, spells, and alchemy. Not only did Callie learn everything she couldn't find in her old spell books, but she finally expanded in the knowledge of witchcraft. It was known she had the gift of true intuition. Under the cover of each night, a ceremony was performed out in the woods to call upon the spirits of earth, fire, air, and water to find the answers on creating the Elixir of Life. Finally, a dark voice within the flames spoke of an animal sacrifice to be offered on the night of the harvest moon. Only by the blood of a goat, donkey, lamb, horse, or cow would they receive an ingredient for the elixir. But once this elixir was to be mixed and drank, they'd have to perform a ritual sacrifice every year on the night of the harvest moon to maintain their immortality._

While Grace kept on reading the history of Callie, Mr. Henderson, still standing at his desk going through some papers, noticed a poster on the right side of his desk placed there earlier by a coworker of his. Reading it, he found that it was a WANTED poster with the image of a bovine's face in blond color. The reward for her capture was not labeled, but would soon be to whoever succeeded in capturing her. The message warned that she was no bovine, but a witch in disguise prowling the streets to prey upon the villages of the lands. Studying the bovine's figure, the librarian turned to Grace still reading with her back turned on him. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, this bovine in his library did look a bit familiar like in the poster, except that her hide was green and not brown. Could she be the witch on the run? No, it couldn't be.

"Have you found anything miss?' he asked, trying to hide his suspicion of her. "Whatever it is you like, you can keep. I'm already planning on shipping out a couple of these books no one wants."

"Oh but sir, I couldn't take something that doesn't belong to me," Grace protested. Although she did want to take the book she read if it might help her understand more of Callie's origins.

"Nonsense," Mr. Henderson insisted. "I insist that you take one to keep. I've been looking for a way to get rid of old useless books in this library."

"Well…I would like to check this one out if you don't mind," Grace walked over carrying the book in her mouth to hand it over. Grabbing it, Mr. Henderson removed the library tag and gave it back to Grace.

Thanking him, Grace burst out the doors to continue looking for more open buildings. Only after she left, it was then that the librarian noticed something on one of the tables. He walked over to inspect the stain. He rubbed his finger over the top of it and sniffed. There was no denying that it was green paint. Grinning malevolently, he knew that it was not here before.

* * *

**AN**: _This story will have to be put on hold for a while now that December is around the corner and a time to be reading Christmas stories and preparing for the holidays. I will try to finish this sometime next year._


	8. Jeremy Arnold

**Chapter seven: Jeremy Arnold**

Taking a left turn on the narrow road, Grace could now see a few citizens walking by from building to building, minding their own business. Although Grace hadn't mind that she was walking down the streets lightened by the lamplights, but now she was suddenly starting to wonder how she would handle carrying the book in her mouth all through this journey.

"Dang, maybe I should've asked for a bag," Grace mumbled, the book in her mouth. "Because there's no denying that I'll handle holding this book in my mouth for that long. I better…OOF!"

Without warning, Grace had been so busy debating with herself that she never took notice of a wandering citizen accidentally clash into her until it was too late. She tripped over along with the other person and dropped the book.

"Hey watch it!" Grace said, irritated by the rude clash. "What's the rush anyway?"

"Oh I am so sorry ma'am," said the stranger, offering Grace a helping hand to rise up. "I didn't mean to bump you. I was just late for a meeting with someone whom I almost forgot about." When he picked up the book, he slowed down a bit as he stared at the labeling on the front cover. "I see you like stories, am I right?" He tensed at seeing the name Callie on the cover.

"The librarian let me have it for free," Grace replied, no longer irritated and feeling a little ashamed. "Sorry for my rudeness."

"Don't be, it was my fault," The man smiled. By the lamplight, he was a skinny, gawky young dirty blond haired man with his hair tied in a small pony tail. He wore black breeches that went to his knees, long white socks, black shoes, a white long-sleeve shirt and a turquoise vest. "If you're going to carry a book with you, better to place it in this bag than carrying it in your mouth." In his pocket, the man unfolded a brown silk bag to place the book inside and hand it back to Grace. She placed it around her neck like a purse. Grace didn't mind, knowing the book wasn't that heavy.

"JEREMY ARNOLD!" an angry voice boomed from the town hall building. "IN MY OFFICE!"

"Oops, I gotta go. Nice meeting you miss," the man known as Jeremy dashed off and into the same building where his name was called.

"Nice meeting you too," said Grace moodily. "I mean nice having you crash into me. Now where should I go next?"

Grace stared up at the street signs on the sidewalks to see if there was any other helpful place besides the library.

"Hmm, not that many options for a lost newcomer like me," Grace muttered. "Maybe I should try the mayor's office. Since he's the boss, he must know something I don't know."

So the curious heifer went down the path in which the sign pointed to the home of the mayor. Even though Grace wasn't the type of bovine to be too easily angered or irritated, the surprise crash from that young man was annoying. Yet he apologized for it and Grace didn't think too badly of him once he offered her a spare bag to carry the book. It was only his crash that she didn't like.

"I wonder if I'll meet up with that man again anytime," Grace pondered thoughtfully. "I mean without him crashing into me of course. He should watch himself next time."

Soon Grace stood before a bricked building with the sign labeled _**Mayor Tucker**_ above the front white-painted door.

"Mayor Tucker," Grace read, peering up at the sign. "This is it."

And she went up the steps to enter through the door, which she heard a ring from a bell above the ceiling. Grace found herself to be in a long gloomy hallway with pillars of decorative vases on top lined in between. And in between each line of pillars was a painting of mustachioed round men. Who were they? Grace had no clue and did not care too much. Her only concern was speaking with the mayor, hoping that he'll provide information of this town and this part of the world. She followed the pillars until they led to an office of bookshelves and a wooden desk in the middle. And at the back of the desk sat a plump blue skinned man. By his appearance, he seemed as round as a large pumpkin. He wore a white wig all powdered, dark brown breeches, and an ultramarine velvet jacket, a white shirt with fancy trims, white silk stockings, and black shoes with gold buckles. This was definitely Mayor Tucker as Grace figured. Strange thing was that he smiled as if he was pleased to meet her.

"Um…hello there Mr. Mayor," Grace said timidly. Although she was unsure of coming here, she went on. "I don't know if you like strangers entering your office, and I wouldn't blame you if that is what you're thinking. But that's not why I'm here. I was wondering if…if you had a map of this world I could use for traveling."

"Aw, a visitor," the mayor said in a friendly, but creepy voice. "I can see you're not from around this town, but we don't get that many outside visitors around here often…man or beast. What is your name stranger and where are you from?"

"My name is…uh," Grace stopped short, believing to keep her real name a secret.

"Your name is UH?" Mayor Tucker stared at her, confused.

"No, no, sir…I mean…" Grace shook her head, trying to think of a name quickly. "I mean my name is…Velvet."

"Velvet."

"Yes sir," Grace nodded. "And I was just…here for a…visitation with a friend. And he plans to take me to all these wondrous places that I've always wanted to see. But first he told me to come here, asking for a map…because he lost his old one somehow." She had hoped Mayor Tucker was buying her story. If not, she was out of options.

"A map eh," he said eagerly. "As mayor, I generally keep many maps here in case some visitor should ask for one. Hang on for a minute."

He went over to his desk and looked through his drawers until he pulled out a folded piece of paper and unfolded it to show a picture of this faraway world now known as Realm of Phantoms.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

"Thank you," Grace accepted the map and placed it in the bag for safe keeping. "I guess I should be going." As she was prepared to leave the office, Mayor Tucker halted her with his voice.

"Wait Velvet," he held out his hand. "Before you go, I would like to tell you a few things about our town. I hope you don't mind."

"Your town?" Grace furrowed her brow. "How long will it take? I'm kinda in a hurry here."

"Only five minutes or so," the mayor promised, grinning to reveal his long yellow teeth which made Grace shudder. "Before you go see your friend, I must warn you to be on the lookout for a witch in disguise."

"A witch in disguise?" Grace stared at the mayor wide eyed, trying to hide her fear of being exposed.

"Yes Velvet, word on the street is there's been news of a dangerous witch in the form of a blond coated bovine that may be lurking anywhere in this world, even in this town. But if you should encounter this witch or notice anything suspicious, do not take matters into your own hands, report this to the officials right away. Is that understood?"

"Yes Mayor Tucker," Grace nodded, pretending that this was real news to her.

"Because as you probably don't know, this town has for many ages, had a long history of a mistrust of witches, especially with their forbidden ceremonies. Long ago, legend tells of one sinister witch and her group of women who were condemned and accused of sucking the life force out of missing children and livestock. So if you're planning on going out tonight, don't. A witch's powers are believed to be enhanced at this time and weakened the morning after. That's why we have a curfew in Hollow Town to keep us from walking out on the streets after midnight. It's for our own safety…and for yours." Then the moment Mayor Tucker's face turned stern and serious, Grace backed away slowly as he came closer and maintained straight in her face to peer down. "And if we ever discovered that someone in this town was involved with witchcraft, a vengeful mob can be...very unforgiving."

"He, he, no…no problem sir," Grace giggled timidly. "I'll be sure to remember that."

Soon the mayor's stern expression changed back to his friendly grin. "Alright then, now off you go. And if there's anything else you'd like to ask of me, come back here soon." He shooed her out of his office and turned to go back to his desk. Grace rushed down the long hallway and back outside in relief.

"Whoa, that was a close call," Grace panted. "I almost thought he already knew about me by now. But maybe I should get outta here before…"

CRASH! Somebody once again crashed into Grace, knocking her down to the stone ground, but unharmed. The heifer's nerves were flaring up a bit.

"Why doesn't anyone watch where they're going?" she exploded.

"Oh dear me miss, I'm so sorry."

Grace looked up and saw the same dirty blond-haired man whom had bumped into her earlier when he was in a rush for a meeting.

"Oh let me guess, you must be late for another meeting isn't that right Jeremy Arnold?" Grace said satirically, furrowing her brow.

"Wait, how did you know my name?"

"It's me again," Grace scowled. "The same lone cow who was minding her own business is standing right here." The man saw that she was referring to herself.

"Sorry miss, I was just on my way to see the mayor," answered Jeremy, giving Grace a helping hand. "He said it was urgent and that I should come to his office at once." He was silent for a few seconds before saying. "I apologize for bumping you twice already. I know I have a busy schedule to keep, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't watch myself. Pardon me for asking, but what is your name?"

"My friends call me Velvet," Grace replied. "And I hear this town is under curfew because of some dangerous force…or something. What time is it anyway?"

Jeremy pulled a pocket watch from his vest. "It's about…9 o clock. Don't you have a place to sleep tonight?"

"Sleep?" Grace hadn't thought about finding anyplace to sleep since she departed from Callie's region. "I haven't thought about that. I've been as busy as you were."

"Well if you're feeling up to it, I got a barn over by my house. I know you're probably still irritated with me, but I just wish to make it up to you. Of course it's your decision though."

Grace thought for a moment whether or not she should go with him. It wasn't that she was suspicious of Jeremy, but she felt unsure, especially when he sounded insistent. But then again, he did sound polite and truthful about this. And whether Grace felt reluctant or not to go with him, she then reckoned that it was no good standing here and she might as well need a place to sleep. So she might give this a try, remembering she had the guardian stone around her neck for protection.

"Alright, I'll go with you," Grace finally answered. "What the heck. It would do no good sleeping out in the streets."

"Wait right here then Velvet."

She watched Jeremy go inside the mayor's office and not come out until five minutes later when he told her to come this way. Grace followed Jeremy down the left street, far from the mayor's office and took a right turn down a different street. Only then the stone streets led out to a neighborhood area of orderly balanced houses surrounded by gardens of beautiful, but black roses, dead trees, and vegetable gardens with orange pumpkins. Staring at the gardens, Grace felt a sensation of horror, recalling the incident with the demonic pumpkins that almost squeezed the life out of her, if it hadn't been for her singing driving them away. She had hoped these ones weren't alive. By the last two blocks down the dirt path, Grace felt tired and hungry as she saw that the trees in front were getting thinner. Jeremy had then mentioned that his house and the barn were located somewhere downhill where they were heading. Blue eerie clouds gathered in the night sky blocking out the stars and crescent moon.

"There it is Velvet," Jeremy pointed out to a small house built of red bricks. "That's where I live. And there's the barn next to it."

Taking a glance ahead of her, the barn was built of wood and four windows with small cracks in them. It wasn't quite perfect or in the best condition, but it might have to do for tonight. For now it would be a good time to rest and get an early start in the morning as Grace secretly planned. The closer Jeremy led her to his home, the more Grace noticed that the house had its edges covered with green moss and vines on the sides and the triangular shaped roof.

"I know you probably think this barn is not much," said Jeremy, pushing aside the doors of the barn. "But it's all I can offer."

"Oh I don't care if it's the best barn in the world or not," assured Grace as she stepped inside to find two pitchforks stacked into one pile of yellow hay in the left corner. "Just as long as I have some shut-eye, I can assure you this place will be fine." She decided to lay down in the hay which felt warm and cozy. The only exception was the chilled wind seeping from one of the holes, but there wasn't enough of it to prevent her from sleeping tonight.

"Would you like anything to eat miss?" asked Jeremy politely. "I know cows like you probably don't eat human food, but I got fresh fruit, vegetables, pumpkin bread, muffins, pumpkin mush, and pea soup."

"A little fruit would be nice if it's not too much trouble," Grace inquired.

So Jeremy left her in the barn for a few minutes and came back in with a small plate of two red apples and two slices of pumpkin bread. The apples had tasted fresh and delicious like the ones back home. Grace had almost expected for everyone here to eat rotten food, but on this case, the food here was fresh which seemed a bit odd in the land of the dead. And the pumpkin bread was sweet like a cake. When Grace was finishing the last slice, Jeremy asked her a question.

"If I'm not being too nosy, where were you heading?"

Grace stopped short, not expecting him to come up with that question. "Well…I'm not sure yet, but you see I'm…I've run into a bit of trouble, and let's just say I'm only going as far away for protection. It's not that I've done something wrong, but it's more of a…misunderstanding." That was the only word Grace could think of, wondering if it was enough to sound convincing, feeling that she wasn't entirely ready to trust and tell Jeremy the whole truth. She hung her head doubtfully. "I guess I'm not a good talker am I."

"Oh no Velvet, whatever or wherever it is you're heading, I'd be more than happy to help," Jeremy smiled assumingly. "There are some things I'm not too good with myself. And that's keeping track of time when I have an appointment to keep with someone. Don't ask why, it's just a bad habit of mine…not to mention the crashing into someone. And because of my flaws, some folks may think I'm strange and believe I can never do anything right, no matter how hard I try." Jeremy let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Well not everyone thinks that way of me. At least there are still those who will listen."

Swallowing the last crumbs, Grace listened as Jeremy talked a little bit of Hollow Town and its history of successes, misfortunes, and especially a dark history when he mentioned the reasons for why this town once had a great mistrust of witches, wizards, and warlocks. It was the same description of how Lucky Jack told the story with the mentioning of livestock and child disappearances. But when he went on to describe how there were rumors of both animal and human sacrifices, Grace felt disturbed and uneasy as her mind recalled the horrible memory of nearly becoming a sacrifice for Callie. She tried numerous times not to think of it, but as long as she was trapped in this world again…she couldn't.

"That's all I know about the dark history of this town," Jeremy concluded, standing up. "And that's why this town is under curfew after midnight. Of course due to my busy schedule, I haven't had much time to read about any more legends and superstitions. But I assure you as long as you stay here tonight, you're safe until morning."

Walking out of the barn, Grace was left alone in the quiet, yet spooky darkness of the shack. It wasn't the darkness itself that troubled her; it was the idea of what might be hiding in the dark waiting to pounce on her as she slept. But Grace fell asleep when grogginess overcame her. Unbeknownst to Grace however, this moment of rest was soon to be ruined by the knocking and violent pounding on the barn doors. From outside Grace thought she heard the echo of angry voices which soon resulted in the doors being forced open by a mob of the townspeople with their pitchforks.

**AN**: _Yes, it's been a long time since I updated this story; a very long time. But here is an update to assure some readers that I would never abandon a story, popular or not. I like writing stories as a favorite activity and not try to be better than anyone else. I know animals don't talk in the real world, except in their own language to other animals. But in a world unlike the real one, it's always different in stories we read or watch on television. And no matter how busy I get, I would never delete my stories. Anyway this chapter is to assure that I will never stop writing or abandon anything. I'll try and update as often as I can, depending on the night hours._


	9. Crime and Punishment

**Chapter eight: Crime and Punishment**

"Huh!" Grace gasped and sat up, breathing heavily like a fish out of water. She had awakened from what only seemed to be a nightmare. There were no angry townspeople with pitchforks coming for her. After a few seconds, her heavy breathing became calmer. "Good, no townsfolk with their pitchforks coming after me. But I sure hope none of them know I'm here tonight. That's the last thing I…need." She yawned before falling back on the hay for some more sleep. "Me and my imagination." Even when Grace thought she heard voices outside, she went on to assume that it was all in her head.

"Mayor Tucker, what's this all about? And why have you come here with all these officials?"

"Jeremy Arnold, there is a dangerous witch on the loose in the form of a cow and we have to stop her before she strikes. Haven't you even bothered to hear the news? Whether or not she's the one, we're taking her into custody for a while."

"Wait a minute mayor, there must be some mistake. How do you even know it's her?"

Grace froze stiff in her sleeping position, feeling the voices coming closer. She had to be dreaming again. But unless she was mistaken, heavy pounding sounded at the barn gates and her heart leaped in her throat. And that's when they slammed open to reveal Mayor Tucker standing outside with other men wearing red coats, black hats, white powdered wigs, black breeches, white stockings, and black shoes with gold buckles. Grace looked up in confusion and shock. And she saw Jeremy being held back roughly by two of the red-coated men. From the look behind his eyes, Grace saw that he didn't like what was going on after these men came on his property.

"There she is boys," Mayor Tucker pointed at the frightened Grace. "Seize her."

"WHAT?!" Grace hollered in a panicked tone as four of the men rushed toward to grab hold of her two front legs and drag her outside to hold her down on the ground, muzzle her, tie four ropes around her neck, and slap manacles on her front ankles. The panicked Grace attempted to struggle and pull back in protest, but it was no use fighting back against the strong grasp of the men forcing her to follow. "I haven't done anything!" Grace tried shouting through the muzzle, but no one could make out what she was saying.

"Silence you witch!" Mayor Tucker demanded in a fierce voice. He no longer was as friendly as before. "I should've known there was something odd about you when I saw the fear behind your eyes."

Grace was silent, knowing that shouting in protest was now useless. None of the men would understand a word with this muzzle attached to her. The poor heifer didn't know what was going to happen as she set out on the road leading back to Hollow Town. And no matter how Jeremy tried to help Grace out here, he just couldn't talk the men out of bringing her to the courthouse.

* * *

_At the courthouse_

The walk to the courthouse was a fearful experience for Grace when citizens rushed out of buildings and houses to see what the soldiers had brought. She winced as they shouted hurt and unpleasant words about her, after being told by the soldiers that Grace might be the one witch on the loose, despite the different color of the coat. Even though most of the animals in this world could talk, it was still known that evil witches, wizards, and warlocks could take on any form as they please and start creating chaos wherever they go. Not everyone here was loyal to Callie, but some towns and villages of this world, even in death, still lived in fear of superstition, local legend, and the practice of black magic. And back in the earlier days, animals were condemned and hung as witches, just as humans were.

"A witch in the form of a cow? I never would have believed it."

"Any witch or sorcerer can take the form of anything. But if that heifer is the one, I wonder how they'll get her to confess."

"I'll bet the witch was out corrupting other innocent folks around here into doing her bidding. And I can't wait until we hear of her sentence."

How was she going to get out of this mess with all these angry and accusing townsfolk around her? Grace wondered bleakly. Even the soldiers wouldn't listen to Jeremy's protests. This was not looking up at all.

"Don't worry Velvet; I'll get you out of there somehow!" Jeremy shouted before the doors to the courthouse shut before him.

Inside the courthouse, there sat a jury on the left side, and an old man respectable for his age, his white beard, even his gold spectacles sitting in the middle behind a large stand. He appeared to be the judge of the courthouse. And he would be here listening to Grace and the rest of the concerned citizens.

The soldiers forced Grace to stand before the judge, keeping hold of the ropes to her neck to make sure she wouldn't escape. Her manacles rattled as she shivered from fright, staring at the judges' stern expression. This was the first time Grace had been brought before a trial as an accused criminal…which only happened with humans. But here she was being treated and accused as a witch in disguise.

The judge looked down at her with a cold expression and announced. "The prisoner here stands before us in this trial accused of witchery, deception, and the use of spell casting to take on animal forms…in which she is doing this very moment as I speak."

"Mmmm," Grace mumbled to say she was innocent, but the muzzle clamped her words.

"I OBJECT!" the courtroom doors threw open with Jeremy rushing in, successfully resisting other citizens' urge to prevent him from entering. "Your honor, I think it's only fair for me to say that this poor heifer standing before you deserves every right to a fair trial. What if we are mistakenly condemning an innocent one without even knowing it?"

"Jeremy Arnold!" The judge spoke firmly. "I should lock you up for hiding and defending a witch in this courtroom." Then his tone became calm and understanding when he flipped a few pages through a black book. And according to the rules listed, he found Jeremy to be right. "But because you didn't know of this before, I will do no such thing. And yet I suppose you're right. You shall be her defender if you wish it. But I do hope you understand and know the penalty for protecting a convicted criminal." The judge looked at Jeremy with a mad glint in his eyes.

Jeremy froze in his spot. "Yes, your honor."

"Take your seat then," the judge ordered, watching Jeremy take an empty seat in the front row. Then he turned his dreadful gaze back to Grace. "And you, what have you to say in your defense?"

"MMMmm," Grace moaned through her muzzle, leaving the judge ordering one of the soldiers to remove it so she could talk clearly. "I'M NOT A WITCH!" She hollered angrily at the top of her lungs. "I don't even know a thing about spell casting, transformations, or mixing up potions! I'm just an ordinary dairy cow running away from a group of hideous old hags who want me dead for their own ceremony! You should be more scared of them than me, if you were any smart enough."

Gasps were heard among the crowd in the back of the courtroom, and Grace clamped her mouth shut, hoping she hadn't made a mistake with the mentioning Callie's minions.

"So you now admit that you're a fugitive on the run from other witches?" The judge questioned.

"Well when you put that way, I guess you could…"

"Answer YES or NO!" He demanded, pounding his fists on the desk.

Grace winced at this and answered, "Yes sir." Whether or not anyone believed her in this courtroom, this situation had forced her to tell the truth. "But I swear I'm no witch. I wouldn't hurt a fly. Alright, maybe I would if it was pestering me, but what I'm trying to say is I would never hurt anyone. Ask anybody in this room."

When no one in the courtroom spoke for her defense, that's when Jeremy stood up from his seat. "Your honor, although the prisoner here admits that she's on the run from somebody, I for one don't believe that she's a witch as everyone in this room believes her to be."

_Well at least someone in this courtroom believes me_. Grace thought proudly, glad that Jeremy was in here as her only defender. _But I wonder if it's enough to get out of here_.

"I mean did anyone in this town or in this courtroom actually see her perform a real spell before?" He turned to face the citizens and the jury before he saw them mutter amongst themselves.

"In that case," announced the judge. "We shall hear from the witnesses who will testify. And after that, the verdict will be left up to the jury to decide the prisoner's sentence. I call Mr. Hank Henderson to the stand."

Grace glanced over her shoulder and saw the librarian walk forward and climb up on the witness box. Staring in shock, Grace couldn't believe that this man who let her take a book was going to testify against her. How could he?

"Wait a minute, don't tell me you had anything to do with this trial," Grace said in disbelief and shock.

"Silence prisoner!" cried the judge, pounding his hammer. "We will hear from the witnesses." He turned to the librarian. "Mr. Henderson, when did you first notice anything suspicious going on in this town after the prisoner left the library?"

Mr. Henderson testified about how Grace came into his library searching for books on legends and myths and let her keep one for free. "While she was researching, I thought I had recognized her face on a WANTED poster in my office while I was going through some papers. I knew her coat was blond in the picture, but her face was a bit familiar. I was almost unsure if she was the one. But after she left, my eyes spotted a few stains of green slime on the table." The moment he held up his hand blotted in green spots, the whole crowd gasped in horror. He had not seen Grace cringe and shudder, then turned her face away fearfully. "Unfortunately, this stuff to me smelled more like paint than slime." When the crowd grew silent at this remark, he then swore. "If this heifer's coat is truly blond, then I'm guessing she either soaked herself in green paint or used her magic to transform her hide."

Grace had opened her mouth to speak and object, but Mr. Henderson wasn't finished.

"Once I realized this, I knew I had to tell the officials right away, but I also wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally bump into her on the way. So I had to sneak behind buildings quietly." He then turned to the helpless Grace, still held securely by the ropes around her neck. "In other words, I'm sure the heifer standing here is a witch who used a spell to transform her appearance so she wouldn't get caught!"

"Your honor I object!" Jeremy suddenly said, rising from his seat. "I had bumped into the defendant twice tonight and I did not witness her perform any sort of magic. Nor did she ever threaten me in any way. And why would a real witch use paint to hide herself instead of using her own magic for a different disguise? If the defendant admits that she was on the run from other witches out there, then I'm guessing she had a good reason to hide her coat in paint…to keep them from finding her. How does that still make her a witch?"

As the folks in the crowd whispered amongst themselves over this argument, Mr. Henderson shouted at Jeremy. "WITCH DEFENDER!"

"Order, order in the court!" The judge pounded his hammer repeatedly to bring everyone's attention. As soon as the crowd was silent, he maintained. "I now call Mayor Tucker to the stand!"

On the witness box, Mayor Tucker testified that he had not yet known of Grace as a witch or anything suspicious while he was warning her about the rumor of a dangerous witch on the loose. Not long after his discussion with Jeremy, Mr. Henderson rushed in his office minutes later with the soldiers to warn him that he believed to have spotted the witch in his library and witnessed her leaving town with Jeremy.

Grace broke out into a cold sweat, not wishing for Jeremy to take any blame for her guilt in this courtroom. Maybe if she just confessed herself and said Jeremy was unaware of anything, he would be saved. But then what would the townspeople do to her after that? And due to her fatigue from the lack of rest, sleep still lingered in her eyes, yet Grace didn't allow herself to fall asleep. She panicked even more when one of the soldiers was ordered to rub his hands over her coat and sniff his fingers. He had sensed it as paint.

"SHE'S A WITCH!" Mr. Henderson blurted, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"OBJECTION!" Jeremy stood up.

"OVERRULED!" The judge announced. Gazing around the courtroom, there hadn't seemed to be anything else to point as evidence, until he suddenly noticed the strange crystalline thing around her neck and asked. "Prisoner, what is that thing around your neck?"

Grace glared down at the guardian stone and the judge fearfully. How was she to explain this to the courtroom? Thinking quickly, she replied hesitantly. "It's uh…It's a gift from an old friend of mine. She said that these ancient stones were once believed to ward off evil spirits and protect me. I keep it around my neck for protection always. Because you never know what evil might be close by?" It wasn't the whole truth, but Grace didn't want to reveal any information about the Sioux tribe or her visitation with them in case anybody in this town was as mistrustful of Native Americans as they were of witches.

The judge eyed her with a cold stare, unconvinced. Now he was convinced of this heifer's guilt. "Any human or animal that wears an ancient glowing stone around her neck is in fact a witch. And I will ask the question one more time. Did you or did you not use your powers of witchcraft to bewitch Jeremy into helping you out of town?"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT A WITCH!" Grace screamed with utter fury in an angry voice almost loud enough to bring the whole courtroom down. Every citizen, including the judge, had their ears covered. Due to the ignorance in this trial, Grace cared less if they were taken aback. This was going too far, and she was fed up. "I deny that I'm a witch. I deny ever using magic to change my coat or bewitch Jeremy. He only offered me shelter when I had no place to sleep. I do not possess any powers within me. I think I already mentioned before that I know _nothing_ about spell casting or any hocus pocus stuff. There are far more dangerous witches out there who are after me, and you scatterbrained fools are wasting your time condemning me for a crime I didn't commit!" Grace breathed heavily, her chest heaving up and down. "If there was one crime in this world I'm guilty of, it's being mortal and…"

"SILENCE!" cried the judge, covering his ears. "Somebody shut her up; she's making my head explode!"

Grace was never allowed to finish her speech when one soldier from behind threw the muzzle back over her snout. Now Grace knew there was no more point in denying everything if everyone kept on refusing to believe her story. All they ever cared about was getting her to confess. She felt like crying, but held back those tears inside.

"We have seen and heard enough," the judge announced and stared madly at Grace. "Since you have refused to admit your guilt, I order you to be flogged on the pillory until you confess. Take her away!"

Upon those dreadful words, Grace felt her heart skip a beat and pound loudly in her chest like a large drum. The judge was sentencing for her to be tortured, as she recalled from hearing those stories Jeremy told her recently, about how criminals were punished long, long ago. And it was a nightmare about to come true.

When Grace was pulled by a hard yank on the ropes, fear clutched her heart as she was dragged out of the courtroom and thrown into a cart for a ride to the gallows. The same crowd from earlier had been waiting outside the courtroom the whole time, waiting to hear of her sentence. Once the driver in charge of the cart announced the flogging, the crowd erupted in fits of laughter and amusement, holding torches and pitchforks. Everyone but Grace shouted in cheers as if it were a special holiday.

_Why are they all laughing like it's a holiday_? Grace thought, shocked by the cheers. _And what fun is it to see a poor soul like me heading towards a harsh punishment_? _I find that absolutely unacceptable and ridiculous. These people should be ashamed_. Her eyes gleamed with bitter tears, especially when she couldn't find Jeremy amongst the roaring crowd.

Soon the cart came to a halt in front of an eight-foot-high scaffold where a great wooden wheel perched atop at the center. This was to be the horrible torture that awaited Grace in order to get her to confess her guilt. But how would they get her to talk with the muzzle still on her? The soldiers dragged her out of the cart and led her in a daze through the angry mob, and up the rough, wooden steps to the platform. With her front ankles still shackled, two soldiers tied the ends of the ropes to the floor of the wheel, forcing Grace to sit on her haunches. The poor heifer made no move as one soldier removed the muzzle from her so that the crowd would be able to hear her screams.

And after a large, muscular, bare-chested, black hooded man mounted the platform, the whole crowd then turned silent when Mayor Tucker had also went up the wooden steps to make short speech before the torture could begin.

"The prisoner has refused to recant of her crime!" Mayor Tucker addressed the waiting crowd, holding out his hands. "She stands upon the pillory accused of the crime of witchcraft and bewitching a citizen into helping her. The judge has sentenced for her to be flogged until she confesses that she has helped every other evil witch put our souls in danger of spiritual entrapment."

"Spiritual entrapment?" Grace suddenly interrupted, staring at the mayor. "What do you mean by that? Did Callie do any…?"

"Don't interrupt me witch!" The mayor snapped, continuing his speech to the crowd. "I will count the minutes on my pocket watch to see how long it takes for the words to come out of this witch." He pointed at Grace, whose head was lowered close to the floor of wheel. "She and her minions shall pay for the crimes upon our lost children and livestock. And most of all, she shall pay for the crime against our once dear town." The crowd roared in agreement to this.

_This is hopeless_. Grace thought shamefully, her head facing the floor of the wheel. _No one will ever believe I'm not a witch, no matter how many times I say it. How much pleading does it take for an innocent bovine to prove it to an angry mob of villagers_? She stared fearfully at the cat o' nine tails held by the man, known as both the executioner and torturer, as he stroked the tails like the locks of a fair maiden. Grace whimpered and turned her head to the right, avoiding any more eye contact with that terrible device of torture. Her punishment was only seconds away, and she would rather not see how that device would deal every blow to her. It would be too unbearable for her to look at. Even though Grace had not yet been flogged, she could almost imagine every upcoming blow bite into her back. The imaginary pain went right at her head as she struggled to move her head left and right. This upcoming torture was really going to hurt. And it would take a real miracle for something to come and rescue her.

"And now that I've said enough," Mayor Tucker announced to a conclusion. "It's time for the torture to begin!" The crowds roared with delight and amusement. "It is the duty of this town to see that no crime goes unpunished!" He took out his pocket watch, and then signaled for the soldiers to start the wheel turning, so that all the villagers could see the condemned witch on all sides.

When her back was facing the torturer, the black hooded man raised his arm, the whips tresses flailing in the air like a handful of snakes. Then he began to bring it down on her shoulders. Grace shut her eyes in shock, pleading for this to be over and done with already. What she didn't know by now was seeing the crowds jump back in shock and bewilderment from something else.

* * *

_At Jeremy's house_

"If no one will listen to me, I'll have to help her escape out of town myself," Jeremy said to himself as he started packing some small sacks of tea, sugar, matches, pumpkin bread, muffins, and two bundles of blankets and pillows. "I don't care what the town thinks of me or her. I'll help her out, even if it means being banished from my own home town."

Unlike the rest of the citizens in Hollow Town, Jeremy was one of those people who weren't at all quick to judge a book by its cover, despite the rumor of the runaway witch. He believed that if a real witch wanted to fight back against the townspeople with her powers, she would have done it already. And so far, he saw that Grace did not possess any such powers. Riding atop a horse, he galloped back to Hollow Town.

**AN**: _Had to do a little research on what crime and punishment was like back in the olden days, such as the Salem Witch Trials where many innocent people were condemned, hanged, and burned at the stake for witchcraft and sorcery. And sadly, that included animals. I even learned part of this from watching an old Disney documentary hosted by Walt Disney. What happens next? I can't reveal too much, otherwise the next chapter would have been too predictable to some. But this story will not end here._


	10. Escape From Hollow Town

**Chapter nine: Escape From Hollow Town**

Grace opened one eye slowly to see why the mob had suddenly taken a step back in horror and astonishment. Something else was not right because she then realized that not a flash of pain stung her back. Glancing over her shoulder, Grace froze in terror when the torturer furiously brought down his cat o' nine tails down on her again. Before feeling pain, a sudden beam of light blinked, encircling Grace and breaking the whip in a snap. Even the torturer, once full of viciousness and malice, was now standing back in absolute horror from what had happened.

"Wait, if I'm not feeling pain, that must mean…" Grace looked down at the guardian stone around her neck and found it to be glowing. The guardian stone had protected and saved Grace from a flogging, by covering her with a glowing shield.

"She can't be harmed!" Someone within the mob shouted. "The witch must be protected by some sort of magic."

"It's the stone around her neck! She must be in control of it!"

"What do we do now?"

By the fears behind their faces, Grace stared down at the crystal while listening to how the frightened citizens were debating on what to do with her. Since the whole town still believed her to be a witch, it gave her an idea on how to escape. Thinking quickly, it was now or never.

"RELEASE ME FROM THIS THING YOU FOOLS DARE TO STRIKE ME UPON!" Grace shrieked in a voice that sounded like an angry banshee. Deep down, she hated to act like this, despite what the mob tried to do to her. But there was no other option to make. "IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO, I'LL USE MY POWER TO TURN YOU ALL TO STONE!!"

Everyone, including Mayor Tucker cowered and shivered at her pretend threat. Grace smiled a bit when she saw how the whole town was buying it. Mayor Tucker immediately ordered the soldiers to release Grace from the pillory, unchain her ankles, and allow her to walk back down the wooden steps. No longer angry or amused, the mob moved aside when Grace passed through to find the same road that Jeremy led her to. The crystal still glowed as more citizens were stepping aside when she was close to the end of the road.

"That's right, step aside and let me pass," Grace ordered, giving a few of them a threatening glare to keep making them think she was a witch. "Just let me through and no one gets hurt." _Dear me, I hope I'm not overdoing it_.

"You heard what she said everyone. Nobody try to stop her."

Soon Grace was finally at the end of the road without anyone coming after her. She whirled around to face the confused citizens with a few last words to say to them.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE POSSESSED YOU ALL TO TRY AND TORTURE ME LIKE THAT. BUT LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN CONTROLLING THIS TOWN. I AM ONLY TRYING TO GET BACK HOME. SO THE NEXT TIME YOU PUT SOMEONE ON TRIAL, THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU…!"

"I'm coming Velvet!"

An oncoming voice suddenly distracted Grace as she turned to the road to see Jeremy riding toward on a black horse. He then skidded to a halt right next to her.

"Velvet, you're alright," Jeremy said surprisingly, mounting off his horse. "How did you escape?"

"Careful folks, she's got Jeremy under her control!"

Grace whispered to Jeremy cautiously. "Listen carefully, there's no time to explain everything. But play along. This may be my only chance of escape."

"Stay back, don't go anywhere near her. The stone around her neck could shatter us into a million pieces!"

"That's right folks!" Grace went back to her acting while Jeremy stood beside her, unsure of what to do. "This stone only obeys me. So anyone else who dares come near me will never see the moonlight again!" Then she pointed the stone at Jeremy who seemed a bit tensed at her movement. "I hope none of you wish to see this young man turn into stone do you?" The crowd was silent and petrified. "Good, then I bid you all farewell. Come with me my servant." She said to Jeremy as the two walked back down the road out of Hollow Town.

Again Jeremy did not ask any questions about what happened, thinking that the townspeople had already thought of him being bewitched by Grace…or Velvet as he still believed that was her name. He himself did not feel the least bit strange when he followed the cow all the way back to his home. And now that the coast was clear around them, Grace stopped in front of Jeremy's house and turned to him.

"Alright now listen. I'm on my way out of here right now, but I just wanted to say thank you for offering me a place to stay, even though your people turned out to be untrustworthy of me back there, no offense of course. I think its best if I head out before anything else happens."

"Your welcome. I was actually on my way to help you escape and give back your stuff, but I didn't expect you to come walking down the street pointing that strange crystal at me," Jeremy replied, now a little suspicious. "You weren't really going to…"

"No, no, I would never harm anyone," Grace shook her head. "Nobody believed me when I said I wasn't a witch. But this stone around my neck…" Grace then paused short and whispered in Jeremy's ear. "…is a sacred guardian stone."

"A guardian stone!" Jeremy said a little too loud.

"SHHHH!" Grace shushed him. "Not so loud. Would it be alright if I told you the truth?" Jeremy nodded understandably. "You see I'm not from this world at all. My real name isn't Velvet, its Grace. I was transported here from the land of the living by a witch named Callie. She's sent her minions out to hunt me down because she's too weak and powerless to come after me herself. All I know is that I'm supposed to reach this mysterious island holding some kind of dark crystal, but I don't know how to get there. I can't explain everything all at once, but I can say that I'm wearing this sacred guardian stone for protection. That's why the townspeople let me go when they saw a beam of light snap the whip in two."

Jeremy couldn't believe his ear when he found out Grace was not of this world. It has been so long since he had passed on and had forgotten how it felt like to be wandering among the land of the living. Now he knew that Grace wasn't at all a witch in disguise; especially when he found out that her coat was only blotted with green paint. Real witches would have snuck by undetected, possibly taking on another form without anyone knowing. At least that's what he once read in a book about legends and myths of witches, vampires, and warlocks. He believed this bovine would be in desperate need of companionship and guidance along the way now that the townspeople in his home thought he was cursed. If he stayed here, it's possible that he would now be welcomed with nothing more than spits and curses.

"If you're leaving right away, I think it's only fair to say that I should go with you," he offered.

"You wish to come?" Grace was astonished, not that she was displeased with his decision. "But what about your house? Who will look out for it?"

"It doesn't matter," Jeremy assured. "Everyone already thinks I'm cursed because of me helping you. It's not your fault though. Our town has always had these unlikely misfortunes and an accusation pointed at somebody whenever something tragic happens. Of course I should have mentioned that the penalty for helping an accused criminal is either imprisonment or banishment. What I'm saying is…that it might be possible that I'm no longer welcome in Hollow Town, being a so-called witch defender. That's why I'm leaving with you." He handed Grace her bag with the book inside. "I'm not doing this just to take the easy way out. It wouldn't feel right to just let you go on alone without further protection and experience of places you've never visited. What do you say?" He held out his hand.

Grace thought for a moment, a little unsure. But then again, he did seem to have a point about not wanting her to be left alone without knowing what's really out there. Although she had only known this man for a short time, Grace had no desire to leave someone like Jeremy in the hands of a town that turned against him, if that is now the only thing that awaited him back in Hollow Town.

"Alright…deal." She answered gratefully, letting him shake her right hoof. "You did help me out back there after all, even if nobody listened. And I gotta admit I sure could use a friend right now."

"I'll go and fetch my coat then." Jeremy rushed inside his house and came back out wearing a long brown trench coat that went down to his ankles. He flung his bag over his shoulder and told Grace. "Shall we start?"

Grace nodded as she and Jeremy started back down the road. Since he had fingers, Jeremy offered to hold and look at the map for the rest of the journey. On the map, he viewed that the mysterious island Grace mentioned was referred to as the Island of the Black Crystal, located somewhere in the midst of the Black Ocean. He had no knowledge of the source behind this mysterious artifact and neither did a lot of other dead folks here. But he knew of a gypsy fortune teller who lived in a gypsy camp in the south.

"A gypsy camp you mean?" Grace asked, reminiscing of her last meeting with the false Madame Minerva who tricked her and later revealed to be Millicent. "Are they any friendly with strangers like me? The last fortune teller I met turned out to be an imposter in the end, luring me to Callie's lair. Not meaning to sound rude, but I'd rather not set eyes on another fortune teller if you know what I mean."

Jeremy laughed. "Oh don't be silly Grace. Madame Lenora won't think badly of you. And she never lies to anyone, unless it's for a good reason. She's old, wise, and intelligent. But she can have a bit of a temper from time to time, if she's in a bad mood."

Grace sighed thoughtfully. She was almost used to handling folks with bad tempers, but usually nervous when it came to her saying the wrong words to them by accident or intentionally. If this Madame Lenora was short tempered, then she must be careful not to anger her. Up from the roof of Jeremy's house, a red eyed raven watched their moves.


	11. The Gypsy Camp

**Chapter ten: Gypsy Camp**

"My mistress, I found the little heifer to be traveling with a new companion from Hollow Town. I'm guessing that he must have helped her out of a pickle. And they are on their way to a gypsy camp."

"Oh she is, isn't she?" The wicked, cold voice sneered. "If I weren't trapped here all powerless, I would stop her myself." Her body took in long breaths, making her look like a large beating heart. "Is the harvest moon full yet?"

"Not yet my mistress, according to my calculations, the moon will reach its fullest peak in two days."

"TWO DAYS!" Callie exploded. "I've waited too long for my powers to return. Bring me some fear potions to cleanse my thirst. They may not be powerful enough to strengthen me entirely, but they'll hold out for me."

Millicent bowed. "Yes my mistress." Then she rushed out of the chamber.

While she waited, Callie whispered darkly amongst herself. "I can't believe that mortal fool managed to escape the wrath of those angry villagers. I would have expected her to have been history by then, but then there would go all my plans. There's no way she could've wriggled her way out against such a large number of villagers."

Callie was puzzled. How else in the netherworld could she have managed to sneak passed the Red Eye Gang without getting captured and managing to sail to the Realm of Phantoms? Due to her loss of powers, Callie had lost half of her psychic ability, but not all of it. Somehow she was still able to sense Grace far in Phantom Valley, yet lost sight of her scent when she left this region. Callie guessed that the Sioux tribe over there must have had something to do with it. Once the evil witch thought of this, she felt both worried and fearful, for she knew that sacred spiritual powers can never be used for evil. And they were believed to be protective against any kind of wickedness. And if her victim was in any ways protected by a powerful charm, that would be her biggest worry, knowing she might not be able to lay a hand on her. But to find out if this was true, Callie would have to send her minions out to make sure of it. It was all she could do for now while waiting in this dark lair of hers.

"Millicent, I need you to keep a close eye on this mortal fool, and report back if you learn anything important. I need to know what is keeping her safe from harm."

"Yes, my mistress."

* * *

_At the gypsy camp_

Soon Grace and Jeremy were walking down the road leading to a camp of colorful tents and acrobats performing amazing tricks. The chilled soft wind had left Grace freezing a little, leaving Jeremy to wrap her neck with warm purplish scarf. It was all she had to wear, but Grace didn't mind much. Sleep still swept within her eyes as she let out a yawn from being woken up too soon, thanks to that angry mob. When she mentioned this to Jeremy without complaining, he promised that Madame Lenora would be glad to let them sleep in a tent tonight.

"This trail feels awfully spooky to me," Grace muttered, staring uneasily at the twisted and leafless trees whose branches seemed like arms reaching out for her and Jeremy. "Oh please tell me its not one of those scary looking trees that pretend to act normal until it waits for someone to pass by and…devour it." She tried to keep her quivering legs at ease.

"Of course not Grace," Jeremy assured. "But I wouldn't bother walking over there to take a look, unless an evil spirit is hiding; just a small word of caution there. I read it in a book once." He glanced over his shoulder to see Grace was standing ten feet behind him. She must have stood there for several seconds when he mentioned evil spirit. So he turned around to face her. "Just stay on the road next to me and we'll be alright."

Grace nodded at this and darted over to Jeremy, trying not to think anymore about the eerie trees. She was secretly relieved to have someone go with her instead of traveling alone in a scary world. By now the two were close to the gypsy camp where the scent of incense filled the atmosphere and jugglers and acrobats performed amazing tricks such as juggling, walking on burning embers, staying balanced on piled chairs, walking on rope, and fire dances. Their skin was as blue as Jeremy's. Grace cringed back at the sight of a gawky, skinny gypsy man shoving a long short sword down his throat. She would have thought an object like that would have killed him, but somehow it didn't.

"Jeremy, these folks are…are quite…" Grace couldn't find the right word to call them without sounding rude.

"…quite strange I know," Jeremy admitted. "How do they perform these outrageous and impossible tricks? I don't know myself. Their hidden talent is a mystery to most of us." Then he whispered in her ear. "But don't say _weird_ or _freak show_ in front of them. They hate that."

"I've never seen anything like this before," Grace whispered back. "It's all so new to me."

Indeed, walking among the gypsy camp was rather new to Grace. She had never experienced such amazing, yet odd kind of performers doing all sorts of impossible tricks that no one in Chugwater was capable of doing. She watched a crowd of people gather around a man balancing himself on one hand only with his legs in the air. Grace turned her head away when other such performances proved a little too disturbing for her to view, and kept close to Jeremy as they walked through the brightly lit fairgrounds. The streets ahead lined up with ragged beggars, bandaged blind men and cripples on walking sticks. But the moment a bonfire lit up unexpectedly in the midst of the streets, crutches were thrown aside and men walked, bandages were removed from eyes that were never missing, and these folks rushed over to the bonfire.

"What's going on, why are these folks so happy?" Grace shouted through the cries of the crowd while more men brushed against the two.

"When a bonfire lights up in the midst of the street, a dance is about to perform," Jeremy answered. "Follow me."

Without questioning him about it, Grace followed Jeremy, passing by exotic and garishly painted wooden wagons lining the clearing. From the sight of everything, Grace believed it was better that Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were not here to see the performances by these gypsies, otherwise one of them might have shouted out _freak show_ whether intentionally or by a slip of the tongue. She didn't want to find out how the gypsies would react if they got angry by those words. The blond heifer herself thought of these folks as odd and strange, but decided to keep those thoughts in her mind alone.

A crowd gathered around away from the bonfire to watch a long black haired woman dancing around it. Her dark eyes flashed as she beat her tambourine repeatedly to keep the rhythm of the dance. Her arms stretched high above her wavy hair as she did different moves. In most ways, this woman was more beautiful and talented, especially in her purple skirt, orange blouse, yellow beaded necklace, gold earrings, and red bandana around her head.

When the dance was over, the crowds cheered as she took a bow. Jeremy waited for the folks to leave so that he would walk up to her.

"You can stop pretending to be young, Lenora," Jeremy challenged.

Upon these words, the gypsy woman spun herself around in a fast pace like a spinning vortex. Not understanding why Jeremy talked to her like that, Grace saw that in several seconds, the lovely gypsy girl was replaced by an elderly woman in her fifties with gray hair, wrinkled blue skin, and a small hunched back. She still wore the same clothes and jewelry, minus the green shawl that appeared from her hands and wrapped around her shoulders. Grace stood back in bewilderment at this transformation of the woman's true form.

"Jeremy, why must you spoil my performance like that?" She said scornfully in an aged ghastly voice. "You know how I still love dancing."

"Sorry to bother you at this time Madame Lenora, but we need your help," Jeremy said when he pointed his head to Grace. "My friend here is in trouble you see and..."

"…and I suppose you want me to give her answers," Lenora interrupted as if she weren't pleased with their presence. "If its help you want, then come into my tent where we will talk personally."

So Madame Lenora led Jeremy and a worried Grace through the busy streets of more gypsies performing both harmless and dangerous tricks that the heifer wished to see no more. She didn't wish to think badly of them, but sometimes Grace wasn't used to seeing things that other folks enjoyed more than she did and couldn't wait till they reached Madame Lenora's tent. She didn't mind watching the dancing though.

"Come on inside and have a seat." Lenora opened the flap of her purple tent so that her guests would enter. Grace took in the alien scent of mysterious spices mingling in a jarring cacophony. The walls were made of a blue violet surface. A small table covered in red cloth sat in the center of the tent inside. And on top of it sat a blue crystal ball. Grace carefully moved closer to the table, hoping that she didn't knock over anything by accident. By curiosity, she sniffed an incense jar labeled _**black roses**_ and felt a little dizzy.

"No inhaling the jars!" yelled Lenora, snatching away the jar. "Getting that close to _**black roses**_ can cause your brain to go berserk."

Grace held her breath quickly, covering her mouth with her hoof. She watched Lenora put the jar away in a trunk, and then let it out. What a big mistake she almost made with that incense jar. It was almost becoming difficult trying to be careful with everything around her.

"Now as for you seeking my help," began Lenora, seating herself on the opposite side of the small table. "I can sense that you my dear…" she was staring at Grace. "…are not of this world. You don't smell dead, and you don't act like a ghoul in any way."

"Wait a minute, you can see through that?" Grace was a bit surprised and startled.

"Madame Lenora sees all," the fortune teller answered wisely. "And by the sound of your frightened voice, I can see you're here because you are in terrible danger."

"Wow, it's like you can see what's in my mind," Grace was impressed by this. Then she shook her head hesitantly when her mind thought of the black crystal. "But now I have a question for you ma'am if you don't mind me asking."

"I'm listening child."

"Can you help us find the Island of the Black Crystal?"

"THE ISLAND OF THE BLACK CRYSTAL?!" Lenora burst, holding onto the table as if she were holding on for dear life. "Are you two mad? No one in this world has ever asked to find the Island of the Black Crystal. That realm is forbidden to step foot upon."

"Please Madame Lenora, I've been told that that's where I needed to go," Grace pleaded. "I know it sounds crazy, but there's this witch named Callie who is after me because she wants to suck out my life. And a friend told me the black crystal might hold the answers...or something like that."

Lenora stared at Grace sharply and asked. "Who told you about the Island of the Black Crystal?"

Grace sighed softly and uneasily when asked this question, but took the courage to answer when she believed there was no point in keeping a secret at this time.

"From a medicine woman named Fire Flower. She and her people helped me by painting my coat to hide my true color so that hopefully no one would recognize me. But it doesn't seem to be working well."

"Not everyone is fooled by disguises, dear child. But it's useful against creatures such as zombies and ghosts. Keep that in mind." Then she cleared her throat. "Anyways, did anything else happen before you two found the gypsy camp?"

"Yes ma'am, I toured the streets of Hollow Town searching for information about Callie in hopes of finding some ways to defeat her. Then I bumped into Jeremy…or more like he bumped into me." She furrowed her brow at Jeremy, making him bury his face beneath the collar of his coat. "But I can't hold it against him, especially after he was kind enough to let me sleep in his barn and defend me when the whole town actually believed I was a witch."

"How did you escape from the villagers?" Lenora continued.

"This guardian stone around my neck saved me when harm just when everyone found out the whip couldn't hurt me. It was given to me by Fire Flower and her people so that I would be protected from evil forces," Grace answered, showing the sparkling guardian stone to the curious fortune teller.

Again the eyes of Lenora looked at Grace sharply, and sensed that she was telling the truth.

"So please can you help me?" Grace begged. "I don't wish to go there myself, but I feel as if I have to or else I'll be stuck here for good. You sounded like you know something about it. Please, I have to know."

"Very well, if I must I must," Lenora said reluctantly, then asked. "But first what have you to show me?"

Grace dug into her back and picked up the library book to hand it over to Lenora. Turning the first few pages, the woman's eyes stared down at the legend of Callie Coven told in an eerie way.

"So this is how it all started," Lenora mused, turning another page. "And look where her lust for power has taken her. If she is weakened up in her lair, that's what she gets for her evil ways." Lenora handed the book back to Grace, and warned. "Dear child, that book you hold may not hold the answers to everything about Callie, but keep it with you at all times. Now let us look into the crystal ball to see what fate has in store for you."

Grace took a step forward to gaze into the blue ball. She watched Lenora gaze down upon it, her eyes clouded with that of wisdom and foresight. Just when Grace thought nothing was ever going to happen, an image of Callie's mansion suddenly appeared in the crystal ball unexpectedly, causing her to back away in fear.

"Tell me oh crystal ball," Lenora commanded in a grisly tone. "Take us deep down into the lair of Callie's wicked domain. Show us of her evil plan."

Grace gasped and turned her face to the side to avoid staring into the image when it grew closer, as if it were trying to get out of the crystal ball. Although she didn't look into it, Grace could hear evil voices within.

"If I have to wait another year for my powers to come back, I will TEAR THIS NETHERWORLD APART WITH MY OWN HANDS!"

Grace recognized that evil angry voice as Callie's. Unable to stare at the image, Lenora and Jeremy were the only ones who gazed into the crystal ball to listen closely.

"I've drained plenty of souls from the land of the living before feeding off of their fears," she ranted on her throne. "Yet I have forgotten all these eons what it felt like to walk in human flesh. And I was so close to fulfilling my plans before that awful light intervened and ruined everything; even weakening me. Whoever did that to me is gonna pay for it soon enough. But right now, I'm more concerned about the capture of the gold heifer." Callie still trapped in the form of a fake Mrs. Calloway scratched underneath her chin thoughtfully and impatiently. "I must have her back before she knows of the black crystal. Her soul holds the key to opening the gateway to the land of the living. And I will never rest until she's mine FOREVER!!"

"Make it stop, please make it stop!" Grace pleaded hysterically, with her face turned away the whole time. "I can't take anymore, make it stop!"

Jeremy rushed to Grace when she started shivering and collapsed on the ground.

"Lenora please, tell me I don't have to face any more ghosts or monsters just to get back home," Grace said in a panicked tone. "I've had enough of them. I'm too young to die at the hands of that wicked witch. And I'd rather not have my life drained before I reach an old age."

The image of Callie's lair faded in the crystal ball before Lenora stood up from her seat.

"We're not finished child," she asserted. "And you must settle down or else there will be no bravery left within you. Remember, fear gives Callie power."

The frightened heifer soon ceased shivering and let Jeremy help her up. They listened as Lenora went back to her crystal ball for another command.

"Show me; show me the Island of the Black Crystal!"

Immediately, a new close up image of an island appeared, with pillars sticking out of the ground; and in the center stood a low pillar with a crystal black as ebony, sitting on top.

"That must be the same island Fire Flower mentioned," Grace spoke bravely. "But what sort of powers are inside?"

"It is known that deep within the powers of the black crystal," Lenora predicted. "There lie the lost souls of the forsaken and abandoned. In other words, whenever a dark ceremony is performed for an unholy sacrifice, the soul is afterward transported inside the black crystal, with no hope of escape. Every witch and warlock must always need this artifact to help them drain their victims, if they wish to stay immortal."

Grace gulped after those words were spoken. It was then that she realized that if Callie's dark ceremony ever succeeded, her soul would have been close to being trapped within the dark crystal for all eternity, with no escape. Not only that, but Callie needed her pure soul to open the gateway to the land of the living. Sweat oozed down from her forehead with her pulse quickening. Unable to speak, Grace could only stare at the image all horrified with the thought of every detail given about sacrifice and spiritual entrapment. Somehow Grace got the feeling that all those angry villagers from Hollow Town might have had something to do with Callie's dark powers. No wonder they had a strong mistrust of witches. She couldn't blame them, but if it weren't for her guardian stone, her back would have suffered a great amount of pain.

"Wait a minute Lenora," Jeremy spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "If this black crystal imprisons souls, what are we to do with it once we find this island? Can we not set hands on it? Is it not possible to crack the crystal and set those souls free?"

"Perhaps…but no ordinary weapon can leave a scratch," alleged Lenora. "You must seek out a weapon of pure magic. Only then can the souls be saved, ending Callie's reign and her immortality."

Grace suddenly lifted her head up, her heart lifting with a small glimpse of hope. If they shattered the black crystal, Callie would be destroyed for good. And yet she almost believed it was impossible.

"Without the power of the black crystal to feed off a life force," Lenora maintained, with her hands over the crystal ball. "Callie would be nothing but dust. But there is another dark power she bears at all costs."

Another image in the crystal ball appeared of a glowing red medallion laced with gold around it. This caught Grace's eye as well as her concern. Somehow she got the feeling that she recalled seeing that medallion from someone. But it wasn't just anybody, it was from…

"CALLIE'S MEDALLION!" Grace screamed, causing Jeremy to jump. It suddenly came to Grace when she thought of the medallion attached to Callie's black cloak. Why hadn't she thought of it before? "Her medallion must be what's helping her to feed on people's fears before she drains their life force." Then she gave a questioning expression to Lenora. "Am I right or am I just guessing?"

"No dear child," Lenora assented. "What you speak of is true. The medallion she wears is another source that gives Callie the power to control, feed, drain, and destroy. By this power, she'll do whatever it takes to prevent anyone from ever defeating her; even if it means outlawing heroism, or hiding the black crystal in a faraway land."

This Grace understood as she nodded. No wonder everyone in Ghost Town acted so rudely and rowdy. Because Callie possessed the power over the town and other lands, they feared what would happen if they didn't obey her demands. She didn't even want to know what kind of punishment would have been in store for those poor souls.

"Callie may be weakened child," Lenora advised, placing her hand on Grace's shoulder. "But as long as the black crystal still stands, she'll remain immortal…" her tone grew darker as her face grew close to Grace, causing Grace to lean back nervously. "…and unstoppable."

Grace gulped in fright. Yet despite her fears, she understood that if she never wanted to see Callie again, the black crystal must be destroyed with a magic weapon. But with the midnight hour growing near, it was time for her and Jeremy to rest in a tent.

**AN**: _This story may be put on hold until I finish The Forgotten Five. Even though Halloween is over, there are some scary moments I still feel whenever I watch many versions of A Christmas Carol. Anyways, I will get back to finishing this as soon as possible since nobody likes cliff-hangers. Usually I don't care if it's popular or not, I just like to write stories for fun. But for now, I going back to The Forgotten Five._


	12. The Vampire's Garden

**Chapter eleven: The Vampire's Garden**

Grace lied down in a purple sleeping bag, staring up at the top of the tent inside. It was becoming even harder for her to sleep, especially with what she learned from Lenora about the Black Crystal and the medallion. Of all the more braver and strongest heroes in the mortal world, why did it have to be her? Callie was an evil witch. And a powerful one that's for sure. And Grace knew she was only a simple dairy cow. Sure fighting the meanest outlaws in the west was one thing, but this was a witch she was talking about. How would she and Jeremy ever find a magical weapon to destroy the black crystal? It could be hidden anywhere in this world for all she knew. But what other choice did she have?

"Why must it be me?" Grace murmured quietly, not wanting to wake Jeremy. Even after being a little relieved of Lenora giving her some answers, she couldn't help feeling scared and concerned for both her and Jeremy's safety. "Sure I may be more than just a simple dairy cow in my world, but how can I come face to face with something I fear all the way?"

No matter how quiet she tried to be, her whispering woke Jeremy as he turned to her side. "Grace, are you alright? You should get some sleep."

Grace glanced over her shoulder, realizing that she woke him by accident. "Oh, I'm sorry Jeremy. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I'm not that tired," he smiled reassuringly to sit himself up with arms folded across his knees. "I know it's late already, but what's troubling you?"

Grace sighed before she answered, her lip trembling. "Oh Jeremy, I don't know how to say this, but...I'm afraid of doing this."

"Doing what?" He could sense something was amiss when her voice cracked.

"Afraid of what will happen if we fail to find the black crystal. If we don't find it time, Callie will surely know where I am. Then I would be trapped here for good; trapped in my own nightmares." A painful lump formed in her throat, as Grace struggled to hold back her tears. "I…I…"

Noticing how tensed and jittery she looked, Jeremy put his blue hand on her shoulder for as much comfort as he could give. "Go on; don't be afraid to say it."

Grace stared at Jeremy, her vision blurred from her tears. "Why…why is it so hard to be brave in this world?" Tears rolled down her face as she continued to speak in between her weeping. "How can I face Callie? She's so powerful and I'm…powerless." Then she turned her head the other way, not wanting Jeremy to see her tears.

But her friend already noticed this, yet couldn't blame her for feeling scared of Callie. Almost everyone in this world feared her name and her powers. Being dead himself for three centuries, Jeremy seldom remembered what it felt like to comfort a friend who was deeply troubled. But seeing the sadness behind her eyes, he couldn't help but take pity on Grace. He put both hands on her shoulder blades.

"Grace, look up at me for a minute," he whispered. Grace looked up at him with teary eyes. "An old friend once taught me that it's alright to be afraid. Truth is that we're all afraid of something once in a while. But you still have to get back to your own world don't you?" Grace nodded reluctantly. "Well we can't let anything stop us from reaching where we need to go. I mean how do you know we won't find this island if we haven't even started yet?"

The heifer's eyes widened a bit, knowing Jeremy might have had a good point. Even for a dead guy, his words of advice ceased her from crying.

"Nobody ever said that conquering your fears was going to be easy," Jeremy admitted, still keeping hold of Grace. "Don't forget, you have me and you'll still have your guardian stone to protect you. That's all I can tell you tonight." He wished that he had something more to say, although he himself was unsure of what was before them tomorrow morning.

"Thanks Jeremy," Grace smiled weakly, rubbing her eyes. "I'll try to go to sleep now. Can't start off the day without some shut eye."

"Nope," Jeremy laughed, watching Grace lie back down to pull the covers over her shoulders. Now that this discussion was settled, Jeremy did the same thing and soon they both fell into a deep sleep.

Unbeknownst to the two companions however, the same dark raven had found its way to the gypsy camp and had been watching Grace and Jeremy ever since everyone went to sleep. She had been well hidden behind the flaps of the tent to avoid detection. Once the raven was sure that the two were sound asleep, she crept inside quietly to observe what item of magic was protecting Grace. The wicked raven gently pulled back the covers and found only a crystal worn around the neck.

"That's her protector?" The raven furrowed her brow in disbelief. "Honestly, what can one little crystal do to us? It's so puny."

Apparently the raven had underestimated the mysterious powers of this stone, believing that something so small could be a joke. And out of curiosity, she cautiously moved her pointed finger to touch the stone. But once an inch closer, the stone began to glow a bluish supernatural color, causing the raven to step back and gag in both surprise and terror. Grace moved in her sleeping bag, but she did not wake.

"I was wrong," the raven screeched, holding onto her neck. "That's no ordinary crystal. The mortal is protected by a sacred guardian stone. Callie is not going to be happy about this."

The raven took off into the night air hesitantly. She did not wish to wait and find out what else the guardian stone would do to her if she ever laid hands on it.

* * *

_Next morning_

Before heading out on the road, Lenora foretold that they were to go to the home of Lucinda which was located on the northeast side of the map. She would help them, but would need three important items in return. On a list Lenora wrote the items as three fresh black roses, a bottle of mummy dust, and a blue sea pearl. What the mysterious woman wanted with these items, Lenora did not know. All she could do was offer advice for them to hear. The rest she had heard was not for them to know until later.

Thanking everybody, Grace and Jeremy left the gypsy camp and walked down the road of twisted trees. After a half hour, the two stopped to rest near a green pond and share a meal of pumpkin bread. As Grace stared at the pond, she had secretly thought of dipping in a clear lake to bathe in, but didn't want to bother with the one she and Jeremy were sitting close to. It was dirty and littered with moss. And who knows what would happen if one stepped foot in it. Then she quickly remembered the paint covering her hide and decided to leave the whole idea alone.

Finishing their meal, they walked down the road again with Grace singing one of her favorite country songs, Oh Susannah. This Jeremy had not taken a liking to, but saw that it helped Grace to be less afraid of what was around them. He wanted to cover his ears, yet didn't want to upset Grace if she saw him doing so. But by the time they reached a dark dense forest, Grace stopped singing when the air became stale.

"Uh Jeremy, where are we now?" Grace asked timidly. "How far have we been walking? I can't remember."

"We're in the Phantom Forest," Jeremy read, studying the map in his hands. "It's the only forest I see on this map, so I believe we're on the right track."

"But where in these woods would we find three black roses?" Grace implied, glancing left to right. The more she and Jeremy marched on through, the more the trees seemed to grow taller and the branches looked more like skeletal hands ready to reach out and grab her. "It doesn't look safe to me. And normally in my world, a scary place is where I shouldn't be. Plus I never heard of black roses in my world; only red ones and nothing more unusual." She spoke a little too loud.

"Hush, not so loud," whispered Jeremy. "We don't know what we'll find in this forest. So it's best not to make too much noise."

"Right then, I'll be careful," Grace nodded, keeping up her pace so she wouldn't stray off the path.

"According to this map, the Phantom Forest surrounds Night Wind Castle where we're going?" Jeremy read.

"Night Wing Castle?"

"No, Night Wind. That's what it says here," he corrected, pointing his finger on the location of the map.

Grace got a good look at it by moving closer and didn't like the looks of the castle. On the map it seemed dark, twisted, and cunning with some mysterious horror hidden within.

"Uh Jeremy, isn't there a way to walk around that castle instead of having to walk inside?" Grace took two small steps back in protest to this crazy idea. "I'd rather not…"

"Sorry Grace, no backing out on this one," Jeremy interrupted insistently, clutching onto her purple scarf and dragging her behind. "I know what you're thinking and I don't blame you. But we're not gonna find black roses out in this forest. Lenora says the only area to find them is in a _**vampire's garden**_. It's still morning, so vampires sleep during the day. But we have to hurry before sundown."

The heifer's eyes grew wide with terror at the mention of a vampire. She wanted to protest, but Jeremy still held on tightly to her scarf and wasn't going to let her go until they got to the castle. He didn't like doing this to Grace, but he knew it was for her own good. She whimpered softly all the way, wishing that being brave wasn't this hard for her.

* * *

By the afternoon, Grace finally gave in by no longer protesting. She was still scared of entering the castle, but gathered as much courage and confidence as she could to not let anything stop her or Jeremy. They had a few tasks to complete, scary or not.

"There it is!" Jeremy pointed out to an enormous stone castle covered with moss and vines. "Night Wind Castle."

One glance up at the eerie sight, and Grace scooted back further as her heart skipped a beat. Even in the daylight, it was frightening enough to make her blood run cold. The castle appeared dark and decaying from passing centuries. Grey mist had surrounded it from top to bottom.

"It's alright Grace," Jeremy said, putting his hand to her shoulder. "We're not going inside the castle; we're only going into the garden. Then we can leave."

Grace calmed down when he said this. Staring back up at the eerie castle, she cocked her head as if in thought. Two torches lit above the front entrance. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to step foot inside and take only three items. No one would ever notice them missing. And it might have done no good waiting for nightfall to ask for the vampire's permission. That was out of the question. But three was all they would need.

Approaching the iron gates, Grace felt her skin crawl. In the stories she heard, vampires were nocturnal legendary creatures who slept during the day until nightfall to feast on the blood of the innocent. But as Jeremy mentioned, they would leave before dawn. Hopefully there was nothing much to fear in this place as long as they didn't venture inside.

"Come on in," Jeremy whispered, pushing the gate open. "Careful, watch your step."

He proved to be right when Grace miscalculated a step by nearly tripping over a loose twig below.

"Sorry, my fault," she whispered dumfounded. "But where is the garden?"

"Let's try out back," Jeremy suggested. "And remember; keep your voice level down."

Grace nodded and followed to stick close to him. She ignored the marble statues tangled with thorny vines staring down at her. Grace felt her shoulders shiver from the damp and chilled air around them, but kept walking. And to their luck, the courtyard out back was filled with bushes of beautiful, but strange looking black roses. And this was not the type of garden that neither Grace nor Jeremy would wish to walk around in. But that was not why they were here.

"Well there it is," Jeremy whispered with delight. "Remember to only pluck out the fresh flowers and not the dead ones."

"You mean the dead roses?"

"Of course, what else?"

Grace could only shrug as they entered the garden to inspect the bushes for fresh roses; ones with no crinkled, dry petals. The dead roses would only turn to useless dust. Grace winced when she had accidentally scratched her left ankle against the sharp thorns while searching. Jeremy who had been inspecting a rose dropped it and rushed over to Grace.

"Whoa careful there," he warned, clutching her ankle to see that it was only minimum scratches. "Those thorns are sharp and pointed. Try not to stick your entire foot in while you're searching, alright."

Grace gave a curt nod and continued searching one side while Jeremy searched on the other side. So far she managed to find one that wasn't dry and had no petals aging. And Jeremy found two more to place in the traveling bag.

"Well that's it for the black roses," Jeremy murmured, securing the travel bag. "I'm sure the vampires won't notice a thing."

"But doesn't taking roses without permission count as stealing?" Grace asked with concern. "I've never taken anything from a nocturnal creature unless he told me it was alright.

Jeremy paced a little in thought and then shook his head at her silly remark. Placing his hands on his hips, he stared at Grace firmly. "Are you suggesting that we go inside the castle, wait till he wakes up so we could go in his lair to ask him? Why don't we do that and not realize that we're falling into an unknown trap." He gave her a sly smirk.

Grace gave her ghoulish friend a quizzical look, and then her eyes widened and pupils shrank. Now she understood that reasoning with the owners of the castle was too risky, even with her guardian stone for protection. She backed away in protest, shaking her head. "On second thought, we better just leave this place and take the roses with us. Heh, heh, what in this world was I thinking anyway?"

"That's what I thought you'd say," Jeremy smiled literally. "Shall we then?"

Giving a short nod, Grace obediently walked behind Jeremy on their way back to the front gate. It was still open for them to make their leave of this unholy place before sundown. Neither Grace nor Jeremy had any intention to stay and find out what other kind of evil laid within the castle or the forest. Their small task with this place was over. Or so they thought?

Although Grace knew about the definition of a vampire in stories told by Lucky Jack, she was never brave enough to listen to him mention that vampires can take on the form of bats, wolves, and mist to prowl the night in search of prey. Any mortal could tell that it was a vampire in disguise by the glow of the red eyes. Or worst yet, a vampire had the power to control a pack of wolves, owls, and rats to obey his commands. Once a mortal is bitten by one of these undead creatures, they become a vampire themselves, walking the earth to feed on the blood of the living until by some miracle, a wooden stake is driven through the heart before the head is decapitated.

Out of both curiosity and concern, Grace gave Jeremy a questioning look. "Jeremy, if we were to ever encounter a vampire of some sorts, what kind of tricks do they pull and what weaknesses do they have?"

"Well legends say that vampires cast no shadows over light," answered Jeremy. "And in a mirror, they have no reflection, so beware. To kill a vampire would mean to either drive a wooden stake through the heart, be exposed to sunlight, arming yourself with garlic, a cross or holy water. Those are the things a vampire can't stand."

Staring down at her guardian stone, Grace felt anxiousness overtake her when another thought came to her mind. "But we don't have any of those suggested items with us. Do you still think this stone is enough to keep them away?"

"It is a sacred item is it not?"

"Yes but…"

"Then try to forget about the vampires," he advised. "I told you before, they sleep during the day. So as long as you don't remove that stone, you and I are safe. But just in case…" Grace watched him swipe some small twigs and at least four thick sticks off the ground. "We might never know what we encounter in this forest."

Despite what he said, Grace could sense that he was as much concern about their safety as she was, but mentioned no word of it as they traveled for the rest of the afternoon.

By the last light of day, the two were lucky to leave the castle grounds a few hours earlier. Because little did they know that back at Night Wind Castle, a creature of darkness had crawled its way down the castle walls like a lizard. Its black cloak had spread out like bat wings while doing this. And after reaching the ground, it made its way to the garden to tend to the black roses. As it floated around, the creature caught a strange scent somewhere within this garden. He followed it inside a nearby bush where his red eyes had spotted a stain of red liquid on the thorns. Rubbing it onto his pale finger, he tasted it to find that it was _**mortal blood**_. By this smell and stain, it could only mean that an intruder had been in his garden. And it was wandering somewhere out in the land of the dead.

**AN**: _Here is another update. I know it's not too scary, but this was written for suspense. The next one will be scary now that the vampire is awake. What will happen next? That will be revealed later in the next chapter which I hope will be as soon as possible._


	13. Creatures of the Night

**Chapter Twelve: Creatures of the Night**

All this time Grace and Jeremy had been walking through the thick woods all through the afternoon. The limited amount of food in the bag had to last as much as possible for the rest of the journey. So they ate whatever they needed. By the last light of day, the road went on and on without any possible twists or turns. It caused Grace a bit of worry, especially when the road was becoming covered with dead branches and dried up leaves. And it was becoming dark every passing second with the light going down from the sky.

"I don't see any turns or anything in this forest," Grace complained, feeling a few aches in her legs from the long walk. "The road just goes on and on and on and on. Can't we stop and rest? My legs are tired."

Jeremy sighed, a little irritated from hearing her moan, but replied calmly. "Alright, we can rest for a while. If it will stop you from moaning…"

"…it doesn't hurt to moan if you're tired from a long walk in the dark woods," Grace interrupted, shrugging her shoulders. "How else am I to let folks know how I need a rest if I don't moan?"

"Then go sit by the log over there," Jeremy pointed at a small log sitting on the left side of the road. "I'll look over this map while you're resting."

All Grace could do was sit next to the log, relieved to finally give her legs a rest and stretch them out. She never meant to irritate Jeremy, but couldn't help feeling too tired to go another mile. The never ending road troubled her, wondering if she and Jeremy might have to spend the night in this dark forest of night creatures. But so far, they had not encountered any sort of dangerous spirits or monsters. So it seemed to her that they were never going to see one anytime soon.

"Huh!" Grace gasped at the sound of what sounded like an owl hooting from a tree nearby. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw nothing but leafless bushes, branches, and trees. She sighed and went back to stretching her legs. "Just a silly owl, what am I thinking?"

"Did you say something Grace?"

"Uh no, I was just…keeping a close eye out for…danger," Grace answered dumbfounded, staring at the creepy trees with their skeletal branches.

Jeremy could only turn back to the map to figure out their location. While Grace had still been stretching her legs, she started to grow nervous and edgy from the sudden mysterious growls and moans hidden amongst the deepest and darkest parts of the forest. Her heart beat fast before the bovine decided to sing a song quietly to hopefully ease her fears at a low level. Whatever made these horrid growls, Grace did not wish to find out.

"Not meaning to be rude, but could you be quiet for one minute," Jeremy asked as politely as he could. "I need to concentrate on our location."

"Sorry Jeremy," Grace said reluctantly. If she couldn't utter a song with her mouth, maybe she could try doing it in her mind. Grace gave it a try and closed her eyes to hopefully imagine herself strutting down the hill while singing _I've Been Working on the Railroad_.

But this happy image was soon interrupted by a mysterious sudden hiss nearby. Snapping out of her dream, Grace thought that she could sense a strange movement behind her and turned around. Nothing but leafless skeletal branches hovered above her. But Grace wasn't convinced and took several steps back cautiously.

"We go straight ahead until we spot a sign labeled Midnight Village," Jeremy read from the map. "There might be a room for us to sleep at the inn." He expected an answer from Grace at this moment. "Grace, did you just hear me?"

"Hush, I thought I heard something," Grace whispered, backing away in alarm. "Over there."

Jeremy turned around to where she was facing, but saw nothing moving. Then he looked down at Grace seriously.

"You might have heard nothing but the wind. Everyone knows that the wind makes eerie noises at night. Now let's get going. There's no time to waste."

"Oh no, that wasn't the wind I heard," Grace protested. "Call me crazy if you want, but I know an eerie growl when I sense it."

Jeremy only took her warning as a sign of distress and exhaustion from walking too long. So his suggestion for her was to keep going ahead to find the village sign. Grace followed close to him, staying alert in case anything should happen. But neither Jeremy nor Grace noticed a long, shadowy apparition stalking them maliciously.

* * *

_At __Midnight__Village_

In no less than fifteen minutes, the orange light had gone down, turning into nighttime. Jeremy and Grace were able to come across the town sign and went in the direction where the arrow was pointing. The town of Midnight Village had been eerily quiet with fewer villagers walking from house to house. The streets had been lit by lamplights as the two walked about to check in at the Howling Inn. There had been no barn for Grace to sleep, but she didn't mind sleeping in one of the rooms with a bed as long as she was able to get some sleep. Of course, the two friends had to sleep in two separate rooms next to each other because of only one bed available for each room.

"It's no barn, but a bed is good enough for me," Grace yawned before climbing in. "All that walking has sure made me sleepy. But I sure hope I'm not making Jeremy do everything for me just so I don't have to be alone. I still need to be brave myself."

Soon she crawled under the covers and fell asleep within minutes. Unfortunately, she and Jeremy were unaware of the evil presence lurking in the streets of Midnight Village in the form of mist. And that form was sniffing out for the same scent that came from Grace's own blood after cutting herself in the thorns. Of course, the creature didn't yet know of her name or her form. It only knew of her blood.

"I can smell the same blood nearby," the voice hissed eerily, passing every house. "I thirst for pure mortal blood."

The moment the creature neared the Howling Inn, the familiar scent grew strong. It turned to face up at the windows and flew upward to peek inside each and every one. Two rooms were empty and four were occupied, but none of them carried the smell inside. Finally, after passing Jeremy's room with nothing, the creature's evil eyes glowed red like pools of blood and fangs extended as the scent of mortal blood had been picked up where the creature viewed what appeared to be a green haired figure sleeping soundly. Its back was turned against the glass window, but the creature's mind was only focused on sneaking inside to quench his thirst. But if this was a mortal it smelled, why would its hair be green?

"This must be the one."

Glass windows didn't stop the creature from entering the room quietly in misty form, after cutting a small hole to seep through. The evil black, cold mist crept beside the bed and wrapped itself around and around like a spinning cocoon for five seconds, until the form of an evil man stepped out of the clearing black mist. This so-called man wasn't at all human. He was clad in blackish robes, from head to foot. His face was strong and white, with arched nostrils. His long hair was white as a ghost. Long fangs drew from his cruel and fixed mouth. His nails were long like animal claws and hairs were in the center of his palms. The red eyes of this creature gazed down upon the sleeping figure, wondering if it did indeed hold mortal blood within. By the looks of the green hairs, how was it possible for a dead person to still hold red blood?

"I can smell the blood, but…" the creature leaned over for a close sniff. His question was answered when the figure smelled of some kind of paint instead of dead and decaying skin like all the other dead souls of this world. "Paint?" With one finger, the dark creature carefully and slowly pulled back the sheets down to this victim's shoulders and found that it was a green-coated cow sleeping in the bed. "A cow? I came all this way for a cow?" The creature stepped back and crossed his arms in disappointment, hoping his victim might have been human. And whoever heard of a vampire sucking the blood of farm animals and turning them into undead creatures? What use would he have for them anyway? Then a cruel smile formed on the vampire's face as a thought occurred to him. "Why not? This animal still holds pure blood inside of her, human or not. She will do…for now."

A look of lust crossed his pale, evil face as he bent over Grace till his hot breath blew on her neck. In her tired mind, Grace could not tell if she was dreaming that something was near her. She felt too heavy to speak and rise up. Lower and lower went the vampire's head as the heifer nearly felt the hard dents of two sharp teeth.

However, the instant that Grace turned to her left, the vampire drew back with a loud hiss. The guardian stone shimmered so brightly, it stung his eyes. Grace sat up in her bed in a great fright.

"Who's there?" she whimpered, gazing around the room in alert. There was nothing in the room to find. "That's odd, I thought I felt…oh never mind; must have been a nightmare." She rubbed the side of her neck for a moment, and then went back under the covers to sleep. Grace could have sworn there was something sticking at her neck for a second, unless her mind was playing tricks on her as always.

She had not known that the creature transformed immediately into a rat and dived under the bed after she awoke. He waited another five minutes to make sure that Grace was fast asleep once more before he could pull another trick without getting close to that blasted crystal around her neck. He figured the object was another one of those sacred artifacts that protect its owner from all kinds of spiritual activity, including dark creatures like him. Now how was he going to get blood? The rat grumbled and grumbled to think of something fast before the sun comes up in the next couple of hours. Then another clever idea struck him.

_If I can't touch the stone, perhaps I can untie the string while she's still asleep_. The rat sneered wickedly as he carefully climbed up on the bed to find Grace with her back turned the other way. Rubbing his hands in delightful pleasure, the rat found the tiny knot of the rawhide string in the back of Grace's neck and snuck over to gently unravel it. It had been tied so tight that it almost took an hour for the disguised creature to finish. If it weren't for the stone's powers protecting Grace, he would have been able to use his mind control spell on his victim to make things easier. This had to work or else he would never get a taste of mortal blood.

To his luck, the string had been successfully untied. Greatly pleased with his trick, all he had to do was get his victim out of this inn without waking everybody. Transforming back into his vampire form, he stood three feet from the bed and whispered in a cruel, hypnotic voice.

"Awake, awake my dear," he commanded. He watched Grace rise up from the curtains obediently like a rising zombie. Now that the crystal was no longer around her neck, the green painted heifer got out of bed and stood gazing before the vampire lord. Her eyes glowed red, meaning she was now under the mind control spell. A smile crossed her face when Grace gazed upward. "Heed my voice and follow it to the forest. Heed my voice and follow me. I am Lord Vasile."

The count morphed into a black bat and flew out the window, repeating his commands inside her head that no one else at the inn could hear. "Come to me. Come to the land of shadows."

The door opened by itself as Grace now had her eyes closed, walking slowly out the door and into the halls where she made it down the stairs. Once a victim falls under a trance of a hypnotic spell, they never know what it is they're doing until someone snaps them out of it. So Grace did not know what was happening after the inn doors closed behind her. She was now walking slowly on her way to the forest.

Back in the inn, Jeremy rose from his bed, feeling that something was not right. He needed to check up on Grace to make sure she was alright, despite thinking that she was still wearing the guardian stone around her neck. But when he opened the door, he found that Grace was not there. But to make matters worse, the guardian stone was sitting there on the bed. It meant that Grace was out somewhere, unprotected!

"Grace, oh no!" Jeremy gasped in a panic. "I gotta find her quick!"

Snatching the stone by the strings, Jeremy rushed back in his room to put on his boots and coat. Then he grabbed a lantern in the room, lit it, and dashed down the stairs and out of the inn. Outside, a worried Jeremy searched for any sign of Grace. No one was out here to help him since they were all asleep in their houses.

"Grace! Grace, where are you?" he shouted, holding up the lantern. He saw no sign of her. "Where are you?"

Unable to find her in town, Jeremy turned to the same road of the forest where they first entered Midnight Village. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jeremy searched the woods for a glimpse of Grace until he finally spotted her.

"There she is," he said in relief, following her.

But soon his relief turned to fear when he saw that Grace was not alone. A white-haired creature in black robes was leading her down the trail. Then it occurred to Jeremy that this creature must be the vampire lord from Night Wind Castle, and he was attempting to lead the brainwashed Grace back to his dark lair.

* * *

Unfortunately to Jeremy, rather then lead her down the long road back as he thought, he watched the vampire lord float down another path into the woods and then disappeared behind the trees. To make sure that the vampire did not know of his presence, Jeremy had to carefully sneak from tree to tree while keeping an eye on where Grace was going exactly. Then within seconds, Jeremy discovered a cemetery of headstones, marble statues, and a mausoleum standing at the far end. The whole cemetery was shrouded in mist with thorny vines entangling the headstones. Even though he was a ghoul himself, it gave Jeremy a feeling of terror and sent shivers down his spine. He didn't want to be here, but Grace was still in danger. Taking cover behind the nearest tree, he witnessed Grace walk down slowly until the vampire commanded for her to stop in the middle.

"Well done my dear," Vasile sneered, placing both hands on her cheeks. If Grace had been conscious, she would have felt the ice cold touch of a dead corpse. But she remained immobile like a statue. "Welcome to the Land of Shadows where creatures of darkness dwell within these tombs. Tonight, I have brought you here to be a part of our race and carry on our legacy."

Legacy? That didn't sound good. Jeremy laid still, wondering how he was to face up to a dangerous demon like the vampire lord. Then he gazed down closely at his lightened lantern and the guardian stone he held securely. The light inside refracted through the stone causing streams of brilliant white light to shoot out in every direction. He had an idea on how to save Grace from the vampire lord.

Lord Vasile took his hands off Grace and turned to face the direction of the mausoleum. He held up his arms in the air.

"Arise my children of the night!" he commanded. "Arise and come out to meet our soon-to-be newest member!"

The count was so busy summoning his minions that he never noticed Jeremy climb the tree to crawl over a thick branch and grab the strongest vine to tie two objects together quickly.

Out of the mausoleum, there came out four beautiful, but evil young women wearing white nightgowns. Two of them had black hair with great piercing red eyes shining through the mist. The other two had wavy masses of red curly hair and eyes like glittering rubies. All four had carnivorous white fangs against their red lips. Once their eyes set on Grace, their hunger for mortal blood grew as they neared, hoping to get a taste of real blood.

"Is that real blood I smell?" one of the red heads hissed in a sickening tone. "I must have some. Lord Vasile has brought us live prey."

"No, I will go first!" The black haired woman argued, her hands reaching toward Grace's neck.

The vampire women came an inch toward Grace seconds before the count stopped them and shouted in a demanding voice.

"Stand back, all of you!" Vasile cried out. "Have you forgotten that I am the master here? It is I who should get the first bite before my children."

He allowed the four women to circle around Grace as he moved forward and placed his hairy hands on her face to pull her closer to him. Vasile could hear this cow's heart thump repeatedly like a drum, echoing in his ears. He licked two fingers to wipe part of the paint off her neck, not wanting to get paint stains on his fangs as he fed. Holding her head down to her right side, Vasile lowered his mouth to her neck with fangs extending.

What the vampires didn't know was that this moment of their's was about to come to a grisly end as a lantern held by a vine from above lowered itself with a sacred stone attached in front.

"Please let this work," Jeremy whispered, lowering the lantern down some more. "For her sake, let this work."

The lower the lantern got, the more the light from above was now attracting the vampires' attention, including the count. He almost had his fangs piercing into her neck until he looked up and his eyes started burning at the sudden flash.

Soon beams of white light reflected off the guardian stone, streaking into the cemetery, burning the skin and eyes of the vampires. The creatures drew back and let out a bunch of angry snarls while the lantern started to turn around and around. Instantly the vampires gave a loud hiss; and then, as Jeremy looked at them in wonder from the branch above, the creatures' limbs were set on fire. There they were cowering and withering, blood-curdling screams coming out of their mouths. The lantern kept turning until the flaming bodies became calm and slowly crumbled to dust.

Grace then snapped out of her trance and looked around in confusion. The poor heifer could not ever recall getting out of bed, walking out alone, and then suddenly find herself in a cemetery of headstones with five piles of burning dust around her.

"Wait, what am I doing out here all alone?" She said fearfully. Staring down at her neck, she found the guardian stone to be missing. "My guardian stone, where did it go?" she panicked until a beam touched her eye. "Aw, what in the…?" To her surprise, Grace was even more confused when she saw the lantern with the guardian stone tied around it. "What's this lantern doing hanging around?"

"Up here Grace!" Jeremy called out from above.

"Jeremy, what are you doing up there? Then again, what am I doing out here in a graveyard with all these piles of dust around me? I can't remember a thing!"

"Hang on for a minute!"

Jeremy began lowering the lantern to the ground before climbing down the tree to rush over to Grace.

"This time we must make sure this guardian stone is tied around your neck in the tightest knot," Jeremy said as he threw the necklace around Grace, tying the string as tightly as he could in the hardest knot. "I don't know how this happened from the start, but we can't take any chances like this again. I thought you were a goner."

"A goner!" Grace shrieked. "What do you mean by that? Wait don't tell me, I don't even wanna know. Otherwise I'm likely to be haunted by these images for the rest of my life. So can we please get outta here before I start losing my mind again?"

"There we go, alright then, now we can go," Jeremy answered. "Just don't touch the burning dust."

Grace carefully avoided the burning dust as she followed behind Jeremy back up the trail. Never again did Grace bother with trying to ask Jeremy what had happened, even if she wanted to. Whatever happened, she feared that it would keep her from ever sleeping again. Either she had been sleepwalking or has been under some kind of evil spell that the guardian stone failed to protect her from. How did it come off? Grace did not wish to know. Her only concern now was keeping a close eye on this stone to make sure it would not slip off again at anytime.

"I do hope this doesn't mean that I would have to be restrained every night to keep me from sleepwalking," Grace murmured, after she and Jeremy were on the trail back to Midnight Village. "It would make me uncomfortable you know."

"Certainly not," Jeremy assured her. "You're safe now for tonight. There's no need for me to do a thing like that. Now let's just head back to the Howling Inn to get some sleep. We'll need it."

**AN**: _Finally an update. I know some readers are wondering when I'm going to finish my other two stories. Well I'm working on that, honestly. If I am unable to work on my stories during the weekdays, then I will have to move my computer activity hours to weekends to make things a little easier. It's just that I'm now working on an animated miniseries of my own and it always takes hours to complete throughout the day. So be patient. I never abandon my stories under any circumstances._


	14. The Mummy's Tomb

**Chapter thirteen: The Mummy's Tomb**

"WHAT'D YAH MEAN SHE'S GONE?" Cliff Cleaver had picked up the innkeeper of the Howling Inn by the neck and shook him viciously.

"That's just it I swear," the poor innkeeper said truthfully. "How was I to know she and her friend were fugitives on the run?"

"Where'd they say they were goin'?" Cliff hissed, gazing madly at him. "I'm not lettin' yah go till yah tell me."

Struggling within his grasp, the innkeeper responded. "The Land of the Pyramids, that's all I know. Honestly, I don't know how you get there. You'll have to take that up with the sailors at the docks. They can probably tell you."

"Let's go boys!" Cliff ordered, releasing the innkeeper and barging out of the Howling Inn.

Unbeknownst to Grace, she did not know that the Red Eye Gang had been able to cross the sea, demanding answers from everyone she met to know of her whereabouts. They would not give up until she was caught.

* * *

_The Land of the Pyramids _

On the next day of their adventure, Grace and Jeremy had taken a ship across the Phantom Sea in order to make their next stop at a desert region known as the Land of the Pyramids. Their next task was to find and collect mummy dust from the remains of a pharaoh king by the name Ramesses. From the advice of Madame Lenora, this Egyptian ruler being dead for eons no longer held any strong bones to walk or crawl around in. Every fragment and specimen that was once his own body was now nothing but dust. Yet it is said that his remains along with the other mummies are watched over and guarded by Anubis somewhere within the land. Another guardian of the pyramids to watch out for was the Sphinx. But that was all Lenora knew, for there had not been enough time to explain the rest after the two set off.

Soon the two friends departed from the ship several hours later on the sandy beach. From there the captain would wait patiently until they were to return with the mummy dust.

"So uh, does the map say anything about the tallest pyramid by any chance?" Grace inquired. "This whatever-his-name-is doesn't sound like someone who takes a liking to trespassers in his territory."

"The fragments of Ramasses lie deep within the tomb of the tallest pyramid in the land," Jeremy read from the map. "Just like Lenora mentioned. That's our next task. Remember Grace, no..."

"…backing out. I know Jeremy," Grace finished reluctantly, following close beside him. "Just promise me you won't leave me alone in a room with a monster. I'm getting rather sick of everything trying to capture me."

"I won't," promised Jeremy.

As the two friends walked through the desert region, Grace took a glance at her right to view the sand dunes from afar. The soft wind blew part of the sand of the tops. Unlike the desert of Phantom Valley, these sand dunes were a bit larger with not a single cactus in the ground, except the dead, withered out palm trees. Grace knew very little about the myths and stories of ancient Egypt from long ago. When she asked Jeremy about it, he explained that he didn't know much about it either, other than what he read in books at the library. But he did recall learning how the pyramids were built by many thousands of slaves, taking years to complete. The buildings served as tombs for many pharaohs and their consorts. Then there had been stories of wars between different countries, abuse of power, grave robbers, and mummies, worship of Egyptian Gods, resurrection ceremonies and sacrifices that he dared not talk about to Grace.

"I don't think you wanna know about resurrection ceremonies," he said cautiously. "It is too disturbing to discuss, even for me to hear."

"That's alright, I've had enough scares in my bones," Grace responded, smiling nervously. "Those kinds of stories give me nightmares for weeks; terrifying, absolutely terrifying. Not too sure if I'd have the courage to sleep again afterward."

"Alright now, let's just keep going until we get to the pyramid," Jeremy stated, changing the subject. "No more talk about ceremonies."

"Then I'll just use this time to sing while you find the location on the map," Grace piped up.

Jeremy wanted to cover his ears a second after Grace picked up the tune of _I've Been Working on the Railroad_. But he didn't wish to upset her by doing that, so all he could do was cringe at every high note she uttered with that terrible singing. Although he couldn't stand it, Jeremy believed that it was unbearable enough to drive off whatever dangers were in the desert. Hopefully it wouldn't attract their attention all the way to where they were walking.

"There it is."

"I've been…what, what did you say?" Grace asked dumbfounded, her singing interrupted.

"I said there's the Pyramid of Ramesses," Jeremy pointed out to the largest pyramid, taller than all the rest.

Gazing up in wonder and terror, Grace felt her heart thump rapidly and loudly, imagining that the top of the pyramid was reaching its pointed angle straight into the burning sun like a hunter's arrow. Its long dark shadow covered over her and Jeremy as if it wanted to pull them in. This was where the pyramid started to fill Grace with absolute horror and doubt of entering the tomb.

"That thing is a pyramid?" Grace asked nervously.

"I'm afraid it is. But don't get so worked up yet. We haven't even entered. Besides, I remember studying Egyptian writings in many books."

"Egyptian writings you mean?" Grace muttered.

"Sure do, many tombs are full of them on the inside," Jeremy specified. "Come on, you'll see what I mean when I show you."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Grace moaned, following Jeremy to the entrance of the huge pyramid.

The two didn't speak another word during their walk until they stood before the entrance. Except the only problem was…there was no opening anywhere.

"Uh shouldn't there be a way in around here?" Grace questioned. "Surely no one can enter a tomb without an opening. Well what do you know, no opening, no entrance, so let's…" she was about to make a run for it until Jeremy instantly took hold of the scarf she still wore around her neck.

"Hush," Jeremy shushed her. "All tombs are known to have a translation here on these walls. Be quiet for a minute so I can read what it means."

Grace reluctantly stayed quiet as Jeremy read the writings on the wall. The writing was known as a cartouche as he explained, spelling out the name of a pharaoh, king, or queen of Egypt. Images were used in place of English letters such as the image of the basket symbolizing the letter C. Taking a look on the map, Jeremy stared at a few images which he guessed to be a secret code. It took several minutes to translate the writings as he fingered the stone surface and pressed an image, turning out to be a button. Jeremy and Grace took a few feet back as the ground suddenly rumbled in a loud thunder. The pyramid shifted slowly upward, higher and higher. Before them, a secret entrance appeared. Two statues of fox-headed creatures stood on each opposite sides, wearing peculiar headdresses with tiny cobras on top, arms crossed holding flails. Right inside the entry, a torch flickered in an iron holder, lighting the way down a flight of steps.

"Ladies first," breathed Jeremy.

After much hesitation and thought, Grace cautiously stepped down the stairway with Jeremy following close beside her, grabbing a torch from the wall to light their way. More burning torches lit the walls as they passed through. Dark shadows loomed straight ahead. The pyramid floor was soft and sandy and the walls were covered in more image writings that Grace couldn't make out. Any one of them might be a warning to go back. But there was no time for that, even if Grace wanted to.

"Stay close Grace," Jeremy advised, keeping hold of the torch. "Neither one of us wants to become lost here in the tunnels without knowing where to go."

"That's what I said" Grace reminded him eagerly. "But from the looks of this tunnel, it really seems that no one has cleaned up for thousands of years." She gazed up at the solid ceilings littered with cobwebs. "By the way, how far do we go until we get to the tomb?"

"I'm not sure, but according to the books I read, the burial chambers lie in the midst of the pyramid. If you think this hallway is filthy, you haven't seen the burial chambers yet." The stern tone and expression made Grace swallow.

"Wish I had never asked," Grace said uncomfortably.

"Come on now Grace," Jeremy elaborated. "We'll just keep going until we come upon the right burial chamber to gather the mummy dust in a bottle before we leave. But watch your step and listen carefully when there's writing on the stone walls. Any one of them might be useful."

Grace nodded, leaving that knowledge to Jeremy since he might have known more about the writings here than she did. Jeremy was alright so far, even though he seemed a little bossy. But he was the only companion Grace had looked up to so far, believing she owed it up to him for at least trying to help her out back in his village where she unintentionally got him banished while pretending to be a witch. It made her feel a little guilty, wondering if Jeremy was secretly mad at her for it, no matter what he said about not being upset about it. And since he's been in the land of the dead far longer than she had, Grace thought it would be better for him to handle some of the knowledge in these lands which always left her confused. Traveling with someone was still better than doing it alone, talking to herself.

Soon afterward the air grew musty and stale, along with the slanting floor turning flat. The two friends were so busy walking in the never ending hallway that they never noticed a dark creature stare at them from far behind. Its slit eyes glowed an angry yellow.

* * *

"I think we're almost at the burial chambers," said Jeremy.

"How do you know?"

"Because…"

"MEEOOOWW!" a strange cry shot through the pyramid, startling the two as they turned around in a fright. There wasn't anything back where they were looking.

"W-what was that?" Grace panicked.

"I don't know…a cat maybe?"

Somewhere within the darkness, their only answer was a pair of yellow eyes coming closer. Not only that, but a black paw with claws stepped out. The two were petrified, unable to move until the thing with yellow showed its entire form as a strange black cat, sleek, dark, and wearing a wide gold collar.

"Why…it is a cat Jeremy," Grace spoke calmly, feeling relieved. But being the same naïve, ditzy bovine, she thought about getting close to pet its rather cute face. "Aw look at its sweet little face. Doesn't it make you wanna hold it in your arms?" She began to move forward for a closer look. Jeremy stopped her by quickly slapping his hands on her shoulders.

"I wouldn't get so close if I were you," he warned.

"Now don't be so ridiculous," Grace said firmly. "Whoever heard of a cute little kitten that could cause _cat_...astrophie?" She joked, taking another look at him. This time its eyes glowed again, releasing a vicious hiss.

"LOOK OUT!" Just in time, he forced Grace down on the stone ground when out from those cats eyes came two yellow solar beams, missing them.

"What was that?" Grace cried, surprised by this.

"No time to explain; let's make a run for it!" Jeremy helped her up the moment that the cats eyes started to brighten up again for another beam attack. "Hurry before we're toast!"

"AAAWWW!" Grace screamed in fright when the beams struck the floor near her hooves.

Picking up the pace, the two didn't stop for a second to look back as they dashed in the tunnel, hoping to avoid the dangerous beams from the black cat. Parts of the stone ground below had started to collapse and fall into a dark pit of certain death, but they managed to avoid falling and that kept them going faster, dodging other traps like shooting darts from the walls by the blowpipes of the statues. They didn't stop until Jeremy listened to Grace being short on breath. Because he was dead, he no longer had lungs to breathe, nor did he need to breathe in any way. But if he did run any longer, it was possible that any part of his body might fall off.

"I think we lost him Grace," Jeremy says, placing his hand on Grace's shoulder.

"You…think so…Jeremy?" Grace panted heavily, her breathing short. Unable to believe that cute cat was some kind of evil spirit, Grace quickly glanced around the hallway to make sure it wasn't following them. It was nowhere to be found. "Good…remind me…never…to…go near that thing…again."

"Well then we better get a move on so we hope not to run into it anytime soon," said Jeremy.

"Got it," Grace agreed, able to breathe normal again.

Jeremy sighed. "But now that the floor has collapsed where we passed, we'll need to find another way out soon afterward."

"I can handle that," Grace shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe the broken floor will keep that same feline foe from following us this far."

An awkward silence fell upon the two as they continued down the hallway of torches, designed with many hieroglyphs and glittering jewels, and stopped short so Jeremy could somehow figure out the meaning of a certain hieroglyph on the right wall. One message translated as a warning to who shall ever disturb the rest of the past ancient pharaohs shall be placed under a curse. Another message below pointed the way to the burial chambers straight ahead and a gold ankh needed to unlock the tomb of Ramesses. The two walked again deeper into the pyramid to find stairs leading up toward the stone ceiling. Moving slowly up the stairs, opening the wooden door, the cold, drafty room they entered was the burial chambers.

Grace could feel her heart hammering loudly in her chest to stare at all the gold boxes lying in two straight lines on opposite sides. Their blank, stern faces filled her mind with the fear of being watched.

"Careful Grace, its best we don't accidentally knock over any of these sarcophaguses," Jeremy whispered cautiously.

"The sarco…what you say?" Grace asked puzzled.

"Sarcophagus," Jeremy repeated. "It's the Egyptian word for coffin. Thousands of years back, when a person of royal blood died, a grand funeral took place with family, servants, and mourners following the coffin into the pyramid."

"Funeral?" Grace said uneasily, staring at the images on the wall where it showed a group of people parading behind the sarcophagus being pulled by two oxen. But to Grace, anything that involved something dead in this world was a sign of danger. To keep herself from being scared any further, she decided to not ask any more questions, unless it was important.

"Now where to find a gold ankh," Jeremy whispered thoughtfully, studying the writings on the wall. "One of the answers must be on this wall."

"And if it doesn't," Grace began to make a little joke as a way of easing her nervousness. "The last place we might end up finding it is where we least expect it…like in a sarco…sar…uh never mind, forget what I said."

"Wait, I think I see something here," Jeremy stared at the image of a large hand pointing to a jug. "A hand like that always points to a secret area or something. Better find out first."

Taking another look at the writing, Jeremy begins to examine the wall wondering if there was any secret room behind anywhere. Grace could only stare in curiosity and confusion as he followed along the line of pointed fingers. Unexpectedly, behind the wall on the left, they soon discovered a huge room of tables, chairs and musical instruments. Jeremy kept his focus on the pointed hands, remembering that he needed to find a jug. One of these jugs was sure to have an ankh hidden.

"Maybe whatever it is we're looking for must be in one of these jars," Grace mentioned, peeking inside a red jar, in which popped out a scorpion.

Grace screamed at the ugly creature, causing a few pebbles to fall through the cracks of the ceiling. She reared backwards hastily close to Jeremy before he clamped her mouth shut with his right hand.

"SHHH, not so loud," he warned quietly. "Your screaming could get us buried in this tomb. I'll look for the ankh."

Grace nodded her head in agreement as he let go of her to take care of the scorpion by stepping on it into a gooey mess. It never bothered him since no poisonous creature could ever have any effect on a ghoul like himself. That's why he had suggested for Grace to let him do the searching. He was more concerned about finding their way out with the ankh to unlock their destination. From the opening of another broken jug, a cobra popped out and turned its head to see Grace standing a few feet away. Hissing, the snake moved its body toward her direction, sending her spine tingling.

"Grace, whatever you do, don't moved," Jeremy said cautiously, carefully sneaking behind the cobra to grab its tail by surprise.

Sweat poured down her face as Grace sees it coming closer. Finally, Jeremy swipes it in a tight grip and bashes its head against the stone walls repeatedly until it no longer moved itself. Relief washed over Grace while Jeremy searched through the final jug. Something was definitely in there as he felt a kind of solid object inside.

"I think I found something here," he said, pulling out the object. "It's the gold ankh, just like the writings said."

"Oh," Grace gazed in awe at the lovely gold ankh with a red ruby imbedded in the middle. "I've never seen an object like that before. Doesn't even look like a key."

"We'll see once we try it out. Let's go back now."

She and Jeremy followed the signs back to the same room with all the mummies still kept in proper order. They moved forward to come upon a blocked entrance of stone bricks. Their only clue was a hole carved into the wall in the same shape as the gold ankh Jeremy held up to examine carefully and place inside. Stepping back in surprise as the wall suddenly creaked open to reveal a set of stairs leading downward with torches lighting the darkness.

"Another set of stairs?" Grace said doubtfully, having a little fear of heights.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Jeremy tested.

"No, I was just…testing my bravery," Grace lied. "I'll go first."

"Suit yourself."

Jeremy let her down first into the mysterious cold air coming from below and followed her. What the two didn't know however was that by opening the door to this secret entrance, they had unintentionally awakened something back up in the burial chamber of sarcophaguses. Some unseen forced had allowed the lids open to reveal decaying corpses completely covered in large amounts of white bandages. Like all other eerie monsters in this world, the creatures that stepped out were indeed mummies. Wondering who or what it was that dared to wake them from their almost never ending sleep, the opening of the secret entrance caught their attention. An intruder must have slipped in and was now wandering down below searching for something to steal from their tomb. Because this was supposed to be their resting area, none of the mummies were pleased with any intruders or tomb robbers having the nerve to barge in and disrespectfully steal behind their backs. Whatever it was they wanted, the mummies wouldn't allow it.

Down below the stairs, Grace and Jeremy were back to walking on flat ground through the tunnels. Jeremy led the way again, keeping a close eye in case any of the other writings to should point to a clue. A feeling of dread filled Grace up when she thought moans could be heard behind them. Glancing over her shoulder, what Grace gasped in horror to find the mummies coming their way.

"Jeremy, run for it!"

**AN**: _Finally an update to this three-year old Halloween story that should've been finished up long ago. All those other animated projects kept me so busy that I didn't have much time to write this and other stories, but now there should be at least four more chapters to go on this. Before updating this chapter, I wanted to do a little research on Egyptian mummies and mythology so that I don't make anything too innacurate or incorrect. This is the land of the dead that Grace is trapped in, so anything coming alive is always possible. I even listend to Egyptian music while writing this chapter. Who was that cat they encountered? I will explain that later. The next chapter will focus on the escape from the pyramid._


	15. Escape From the Pyramid

**Chapter fourteen: Escape from the Pyramid**

"What is it now Grace?" Jeremy asked, peeved.

"Look behind you!"

He turned around and saw what Grace meant when she said to run for it. Having no time for some questions, he dashed alongside Grace this time from some angry mummies other than the beaming feline.

"What are those things following us for?" Grace panted. "I don't remember doing anything to awaken them."

"Those mummies must have come from the burial chamber we passed," Jeremy replied. "Opening this chamber must have somehow awakened them."

"Well that's just great!" Grace shrieked half sarcastically. "Now we got these ugly walking corpses chasing after us until we might as well fall into a trap."

"Just keep running. That's all we can do until we lose them."

Grace kept her mouth shut as she and Jeremy went on running in the straight tunnel, luckily losing a few of the mummies to more hidden traps that they were able to safely pass through such as the swinging axes from above and surviving a collapsing bridge over a pit of flesh-eating scarabs. A few of the mummies fell into the pit, unable to make it to the other side where Grace and Jeremy were. Grace was walking away from the pit before when ancient thick bandages from one of the mummies on the other side shot out and wrapped around her back ankles, pulling her back to fall into the pit of scarabs.

"GRACE!" Jeremy yells as he rushes over to slide on his stomach to save her.

Grace quickly shuts her eyes, not wanting to see herself fall and become a main course for a bunch of bloodsucking insects. She snaps her eyes open to see that Jeremy somehow shot his hands through the air and grabs her front legs.

"Jeremy?" Grace says in a relieved tone.

"Hang on," Jeremy replies, helping her back up.

She gripped on for dear life, waiting for her heart to stop pounding. Despite the huge weight of the heifer, Jeremy was able to pull her back from the pit which caused Grace to cower on the sandy ground, shivering.

"Please don't make me go forward," she pleaded softly.

"But Grace, if we stay here we won't make it out," Jeremy insisted rubbing her back. "You haven't lost your stone yet."

Pulling herself together, Grace managed to stop shivering when she realized that she had almost forgotten that she still wore her guardian stone for protection. Perhaps it would explain the reason why she was able to survive those traps they passed. Jeremy helped her back on her feet.

"Thanks Jeremy," Grace says smiling.

"You're welcome," Jeremy replies. "We'll talk about this later after we find the tomb."

* * *

Grace only nods as she and Jeremy continue their mission. Thanks to the mummy encounter, Grace held a tight feeling in her throat, staring at everything around her to make sure they were not walking into a deadly trap by mistake. The feeling even left her too scared to sing. Struggling to push aside the horrible, frightening thoughts of never getting out of this tomb, Grace took a deep breath to clear her mind and stay focused, scolding herself for thinking of giving up right now when she now had come this far. The air in this tunnel smelled of someone's old attic, stinging her eyes. Their steps crunched on the sandy floor, making Grace more nervous than she thought. If only being braver in this world was a piece of cake than it was right at this moment. Soon the two saw another tunnel leading off to the right, then another one on the left. Which one should they choose?

"Oh I should have remembered," Jeremy slapped his forehead.

"Remembered what Jeremy?" Grace asked curiously.

"I forgot to mention that the pyramids had dozens of tunnels and chambers as their way of preventing tomb robbers from finding the real burial room," he answered.

"So?"

"So that means any of these tunnels could lead to the real tomb, but that would mean getting lost for hours or even longer."

Grace felt her stomach churn, understanding what he meant when she stared at the two tunnels.

"So what do we do now?" She moaned.

"We might as well risk this challenge," Jeremy answered, crossing his arms. "There's no other way. But whatever happens, don't wander off alone."

Grace agreed, reluctantly sticking alongside Jeremy as they decided to try the tunnel on the left, which curved to the right.

_This is just what I needed_. Grace complained in her mind. _We're here in this foul smelling tunnel in a large pyramid full of bandaged corpses, wicked cats, and flesh-eating bugs just for the sake of a good dose of mummy dust in our quest and now we might as well get trapped any minute here in a maze of dangerous tunnels waiting to fall into another deadly trap that might kill us…or me that is_. She didn't know if it made sense for a ghoul to get killed in a trap if he was already dead. _Then again, as much as I hate risking my hide in an undead place like this, what more can I say_. _But I can do it_. _A hero never quits_. _I've done this before and I'll do it again_. The last words in her mind got her going with encouragement, knowing there was no time to be flaky as she always reminded herself.

Following Jeremy out of the chamber, they squeezed through a narrow tunnel, then turned and followed a wider tunnel to the left. She hesitated, a few steps behind him.

"Is there a sign here that points the way to the chamber?" Grace asked, keeping her voice low so Jeremy wouldn't think she was frightened.

"Not yet, but I hope so," Jeremy replied. "Try not to scream or we might get buried. I'll lead the way."

This tunnel was wider than others, but Grace did not complain further, feeling that they were getting close to two low openings, stepping out of the right tunnel one at a time. The air in this area grew a little warmer, smelling stale like cigarettes and the floor was harder, less sandy. She remained quiet for Jeremy to read any sort of helpful writing on the walls. He pointed to the right tunnel as their next path to take. But the more they ventured in the depths of the tunnels, the more that same heavy feeling in Grace grew in the pit of her stomach. Even when encountering tiny scorpions, Grace wanted to utter a frightened cry, but forced herself to hold it in, fearing of the ceiling collapsing. Believing that in order to make it out of here alive, she had to force herself to pretend that she wasn't afraid of anything in this pyramid.

_Keep moving Grace, you can do it_. Grace thought to herself. _Just because there may be thousands of tunnels doesn't mean you'll never get out. Keep going_.

But once the tunnel they followed led to a dead end, all became quiet. It was so quiet that Grace could hear her heart pounding in her chest. A sign of this dead end meant they were trapped.

"What, no opening?" Grace whimpered. "How can that be? We've been walking too long already. What if we took a wrong turn and are lost here for GOOD!" She was beginning to panic.

"Grace, stop it!" Jeremy snapped without raising his voice any louder. He shook her shoulders hastily to try and calm her. "We will get out of here. But you have to calm down or else…"

Something then interrupted them, like the sound of crunching. It snapped Grace out of her panicked state as she listened closely to the sound. An insect chattering? What if it was another of those scarabs? When the chattering turned to cracking, fear built up in her throat. Even Jeremy became worried that he might have been wrong about finding their way out of here. With nowhere to turn and nowhere to run, he feared they were trapped. Louder and louder it grew, right under their feet. Turning their eyes to the floor, it took them a while to realize what was happening…before the ancient tunnel floor cracked apart beneath them!

It was too late for them to move out of the way. The floor crumbled beneath as they were now falling, falling, falling, into the endless black hole, landing on some kind of curving slide, sending them on a ride below. Grace tried to scream, but no sound came out as she and Jeremy kept on sliding.

Her eyes shut tight; it was then that Grace felt herself land on her bottom, pain shooting through her body. Jeremy landed right beside her in the same way. Opening her eyes, everything seemed blurry for a few second before she was able to regain her vision. Her rump throbbed in pain from the fall. But that wasn't what bothered her. Now she wondered where she and Jeremy had fallen into this time. A sour smell of decay invaded her nostrils. Whatever this room was, it sure reeked of ancient dust and death.

"This is rather a shameful situation," Grace said fearfully.

The two dusted themselves off and looked around. The area they landed in appeared to be some kind of huge cavern or circular temple, stretching upward so high, neither of them could see the ceiling. The walls were a dark reddish color, unlike anything seen in the desert. In the center of the room stood a peculiar island with only a stone bridge extended to it. On top of the mini pillar on the island, lit by a magical beam of yellow light, was a vase. Standing before the pillar, outside of the small island stood a great statue with the body of a man and the head of a jackal. Something about it caused Grace to tremble as if it stared down at her and Jeremy, waiting for them to make the first move.

"Grace, I think we've found the right tomb," Jeremy said eagerly. "I'm sure of it. But see that statue up there?"

"Yes, what about it?" Grace asked, frozen in place, gaping at the frightening statue. "It looks like it doesn't want us in here."

"That appears to be the statue of Anubis," Jeremy replied in a whispered voice. "Remember what Madame Lenora said about him guarding over the mummies in their resting place? We have to do this quietly. If not, those eyes will glow an angry red, possibly triggering the most deadly trap or something we do not wish to know."

Grace gulped in fear. Trying to calm herself, she sucked in a deep breath of the putrid air and held it. That vase must have been were the remains of Ramesses were kept, meaning that's what the statue of Anubis was watching over, unless the two got out of here without making any loud racket. That's what worried her the most. But by watching Jeremy sneak over to the island after asking that she stay where she was, Grace felt a little calmer, thinking Jeremy could handle these things since he had fingers and her hooves would not have picked up anything. Gathering the dust wouldn't be easy, but there were no other suggestions.

Walking quietly across the stone bridge, Jeremy arrived at the low pillar to peek inside the opening of the vase. There was dust in there alright…mummy dust, just like they needed. Jeremy smiled, carefully setting down the traveling bag from his shoulder to take out the small bottle, removing the cork.

While Grace watched him dip the bottle in the vase, she didn't notice a pair of mummified hands slowly reaching out behind her since she had been too distracted with forcing herself not to be afraid. The only sense she got of something close to her was the same sour odor growing stronger and thicker. At first Grace thought it was just her imagination. Even by holding her breath, the stench was in her nostrils, in her mouth, wishing that Jeremy was done already so they could get away from this tomb. She could already taste the decay of a thousand year old aroma of death waiting to drag her into it.

By now, Jeremy had succeeded in gathering their dose of the mummy dust, sealing it with the cork. He smiled, believing that there may be nothing more to worry about. All that was left to do now was find a way out, no matter where it might be. Yet out of the corner of his eye, he saw something stalking behind Grace. Its bandaged arms were outstretched, reaching for her neck. He wanted to quickly shout out his warning to her, but if he did, Anubis would wake up. So he hoped a signal of him pointing out would be helpful enough.

This time Grace got the feeling that Jeremy was trying to tell her something as she spun her head around, gaping in horror at the mummy behind her, snatching hold of her neck with both bandaged hands to suck out her breath before she had a chance to scream.

That was when Jeremy picked up the bag hastily and rushed over to hopefully save Grace from being strangled.

A chill of fear tightened in Grace's throat, thinking this was the end. One thing she forgot was that she still wore the guardian stone, which was now glittering and shining into the mummy's face. Grace didn't know how it happened but somehow the mummy's hands broke, releasing Grace from its grasp. She watched the creature step backwards from her, trying to avoid the light of the stone which it now feared.

"Jeremy look," Grace said with a bit of relief. "You were right all along, my stone scared him off and…and…and…" her nose tickled from the dust atmosphere in the chamber.

"GRACE!" Jeremy shouted. "NO!"

But it was too late. "AAACCHHOOO!" Grace sneezed so loud that it echoed throughout the tomb, causing rocks and dust to fall from above. Worst yet, the ground began to rumble thunderously as the two turned to face the big statue of Anubis, eyes glowing an angry red. The statue had awakened and it was mad!

"_Who disturbs the slumber of Anubis_?" The statue boomed.

"Uh…nothing here but us tourists, Mr. Statue sir," Grace replied shivering close to Jeremy. Her voice was a nervous squeak, and her legs were stoned.

"Grace be quiet!" Jeremy snapped a little too late, not wanting her to anger the statue who guards the mummies.

"_An intruder_!" Anubis said. "_Come to steal the royal treasure of the Great Kings of Egypt? I will not have it_!"

"No, No Mr. Statue we…" Grace was about to explain that they were only looking for a way out.

"_You dare to call me a statue_?" Anubis roared angrily. "_I am Anubis, guardian of the tombs and protector of all mummies. And you…whoever you are shall have the honor of being buried alive like all other tomb robbers who dared to enter the royal chambers and steal treasure_."

Grace shook her head at the statue. "But we didn't come all this way for treasure. We were only exploring this tomb out of curiosity, nothing more. It was a mistake and now we were wondering if you could help us find our way out instead. If you do, we'll tell all our other friends and family not to come here and make this place a tourist attraction…please?" She tried smiling, despite her fear. Yet it seemed that reasoning with Anubis might not have been a good idea.

"_NNNOOOO_!" The voice of Anubis echoed like a cannon. His ruby red eyes shined menacingly in between the flickering flames of the two torches beside him. "_You shall never leave this tomb…ALIVE_!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't q…quite catch that last phrase," Grace joked nervously trying to pretend she didn't hear Anubis. "Would you mind repeating that again one…more time?"

But the statue didn't seem to hear her out or take her little joke. Two hidden vaults in the walls slid open, revealing dozens of mummies wearing ancient armor like palace guards, different from the other mummies they first encountered. Each of them held two swords in their bandaged hands, glaring sinisterly at Grace and Jeremy who were now stepping back in horror.

Struggling to think quickly, Grace knew that she and Jeremy could not escape where they had first dropped in. Surely those two tunnels the mummies came out of must lead to somewhere.

"_Seize them_!" Anubis commanded.

That was when Grace noticed a third tunnel not used by the mummies, standing below a flickering torch. Whether it was the way out or into another room, they had to take it.

"Jeremy," Grace said bravely, although still a little frightened of the mummies. "Get ready to make a run for it in that tunnel." She began to run. "Follow me!"

"Wait up, what are you doing Grace!" Jeremy shouted, running after her.

"Just follow me!" Grace replied, entering the third tunnel with Jeremy now running close beside her.

The scene here was tense. They might as well have been in terrifying danger of being turned into mummies by the undead guards and be buried alive in the tombs for all eternity. Grace didn't quite know what she was doing when they made a run for it in the curving tunnel, but because there had been no other option to take, a risk had to be taken. The guards went after them, despite the dangerous obstacles that brought Grace and Jeremy more time to escape. They managed to dodge darts and spears thrown at them from the guards, including rocks falling from the ceiling. The tomb had been shaking violently while they had been outrunning the guards all this time, meaning Anubis was now furious.

Some time later, the two had mistakenly slipped down another opening hidden beneath the sand, evading the guards before getting caught. None of them could find out where the two intruders slipped off to, but they insisted on searching the tunnels everywhere to make sure they would never leave this pyramid.

* * *

Grace awoke on the sandy floor. The guards were missing; the rumbling had stopped; only silence was present in this other room they had fallen into. Jeremy shook Grace to make sure she was alive. He felt relieved to see her groan and lift her head up. It took her eyes a little while to adjust to the brightness of the torches on the wall.

"Here Grace, let me help you," Jeremy said, helping Grace to her feet several minutes after they had fallen. He even helped her to wipe the sand from her hide.

Grace thanked him after she was able to stand properly. She didn't remember walking through this tunnel.

"What happened?" Grace asked in a low tone. "Why aren't we already in bandages?"

"I don't know Grace," Jeremy shrugged. "But I think we might have fallen into another secret tunnel."

"Jeremy, is this one of those false passages you talked about earlier?" Grace inquired.

"I'm not sure," answered Jeremy. "But it could be. Only this time, try to stay calm. We should find out if it'll lead us outside."

"I'll try," said Grace eagerly.

Even Jeremy himself was nervous about being trapped in the darkness here, even if he was already dead. For a long dead ghoul like him trapped in the land of the dead for hundreds of years, he had always known that there are far worst fates than death. And the idea of being mummified in this tomb without dying was one of them.

Reaching the very end of the tunnel, there was darkness without torches. But that didn't stop Jeremy from grabbing one of the torches on the wall behind them. They walked down together, listening to the silence. The ancient dust of decay could not be smelled anymore which was a relief to Grace, knowing she did not have to deal with that awful stench anymore. The only sound to be heard was wind.

"I think I hear wind," said Jeremy quietly. "There is no wind inside tombs, which can mean we're close to freedom."

"Finally!" Grace cried happily, jumping a bit. "We can leave this old tomb of death."

"Not so loud Grace," Jeremy warned. "We still need to follow where the sound is coming from. Right this way."

They followed the sound all the way through the curving hallway, turning around one corner, then another, and another.

"There it is!" Jeremy pointed out to a small speck of light peeking through a hole in the wall, where sand poured in. He moved toward it. "I think if we pull these chunks of rocks off we should…" he started pulling off the rocks, causing the sand to slide through in a large pile. "WHOA!"

Jeremy and Grace stepped back in surprise as the hole grew larger with the cascading sand. When it was over, the two saw the light from the sky outside the desert. The two rushed out in excitement toward the outside with the sand dunes, palm trees, and the orange sky.

"Aw fresh air," Grace breathed. "I thought I'd never smell it again."

But Jeremy was thinking.

"Grace," he reminded, watching her hug the sandy ground. "We have to get back to the ship now before anything else happens."

They were on their way back to the ship, lucky that they didn't encounter the Sphinx. And whatever that black cat was, it might have been another bodyguard of some sort.

**AN**: _Another chapter updated. I do not own anything of the names or characters mentioned in Egyptian mythology. But the names had been used in popular culture today in books, movies and games. Doing a little research on things always helps. There may be four chapters left to go on this. I know I mentioned four in the last chapter, but that's because I just remembered who else they were supposed to meet before finding the Black Crystal. Stay tuned. The next chapter will be a pirate encounter as Grace searches for the last item on their quest. Plus personally, I'd probably be in a panicked state too if I couldn't find my way out of a cursed pyramid of corpses waiting to come after me._


	16. Pirates Ahead

**Chapter fifteen: Pirates Ahead**

"Millicent, Ramada, get in here!" Callie commanded at the top of her lungs.

Within her throne room, she still sat there weak. But starting tonight she was delighted to know that her time for recovery was moments away.

The two witches suddenly burst into the room.

"Yes my mistress," Ramada bowed respectfully next to Millicent. "You called for us?"

"I have," responded Callie, smirking sinisterly. "Tonight, the time has come for my powers to finally return to me and I'll be able to take my revenge on that wretched bovine brat once and for all." She adjusted herself on the stone chair and asked scornfully. "Have any of you found out about her location recently?"

"Well no but…" Millicent began.

"As a matter of fact, we have my mistress," Ramada interrupted. "I've done a little spying of my own in the cauldron and it appears that the little heifer has now reached the ocean miles away from the Land of the Pyramids."

"Land of the Pyramids?" Callie scowled. "And to think the protector of those tombs would have mummified her by now. I can't have her get that far. She must be stopped!" She turned to her minions and ordered. "Take me to the sacrificial chamber!"

The two witches bowed and helped their mistress to her feet, hidden by the length of her black cloak. From her throne, they helped her to walk to the same sacrificial chamber where they had intended to drain Grace of her life essence and trap her soul in the Black Crystal.

_Yes, run all you want my dear_. Callie thought mockingly in her mind, smirking. _No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, I will find you eventually. Nothing can escape the wrath of my dark magic…nothing_.

"Have the preparations been made?" She spoke in a raspy tone.

"Yes mistress," answered Ramada. "Everything in the sacrificial chamber is all set and ready, just like you asked."

Callie sneered in pleasure. "Perfect, then take me to the cauldron."

"Yes mistress," both witches replied.

It didn't take long for Callie's minions to walk her over to where the bubbling cauldron was waiting for her appearance. Standing before it, she commanded.

"Now that I'm here, show me where that wretched bovine has traveled off to!"

The bubbling green liquid in the cauldron swirled yellow until an image of a ship out at sea with an unfamiliar blond haired, blue skinned ghoul in colonial clothing and a green colored bovine on deck, looking out at the sea. She didn't mind the ghoul, but something was familiar about this green coated bovine, same shape, face, and eyes could not fool her in any way. It had to be her. Why haven't the Red Eye Gang been able to capture her right away? Unless of course, they were waiting for the right time to ambush them or that her prey was becoming cleverer every minute. But whatever it was, Callie was not about to let Grace get away that easily.

"Ah I see the wretched bovine thinks she can fool me with that new look," Callie gloated. "Rubbish, I'll see to it that the pirate captain and the crew take care of her in case the Red Eye Gang hasn't already. Millicent, Ramada, see to it that you inform the pirates of our little friend on the loose in their territory."

"Yes mistress, it will be our pleasure," said Millicent, disappearing along with Ramada.

After their disappearance, she called upon Mildred, Hazel, and Gilda to help her onto the concrete table and wait upon Millicent and Ramada's return. Another image of a ghostly ship sailing the seas formed in the cauldron. Its sails were big and black as shadows.

* * *

_Out in the ocean_

The ship that Grace and Jeremy rode was on its course in the midst of the ocean. Their last task to find a blue sea pearl was not to be found under the ocean, but in an old abandoned pirates cave said to be on a deserted island filled with treasures beyond every mortals' dreams. Of course, the treasure was not what they were seeking, but the sea pearl.

"How long will it take to find this mysterious pirates' cave?" Grace asked patiently. "Does the map point which direction to go to?"

Jeremy studied the map. "We take the route out to the west." He pointed out to the ocean. "I'll go and inform the captain."

"Good idea," said Grace. "While you're at it, see if there is anymore of that pumpkin bread left in the bag. Sure could use a bite."

Jeremy went up to show the location on the map to the captain up front. Then he later returned with the last piece of pumpkin bread, giving it to Grace. It hadn't been too hard to digest, although staring down at the sea made her feel nervous. The salty sea air brushed back against her, and all she could do was stand and wait. If the ship had been tossing back and forth any faster, she would have possibly been seasick. But the currents were calm. The sky in this area was about to become dark in another hour or two, giving Grace the fearful thought that she and Jeremy must hurry, meet Lucinda, and destroy that Black Crystal or else she's trapped in this world forever.

Peeking through a telescope attached to the rails, Grace gazed at the misty fog blanketing part of the ocean. Something else from within there brought a sense of uneasiness in Grace when she thought she saw some large shadowy figure cutting through the fog like a sharks fin. Far from where she was, it looked like the topmast of a tall, black ship with a skull and crossbones flag. Then it disappeared into the fog.

"What was that," Grace whispered in shock and confusion. She shook her head hastily and peeked through the telescope again to find nothing. "I know I saw something."

"Did you say something Grace?" Jeremy inquired, taking his attention away from the map.

"Uh nothing Jeremy," Grace answered, hoping to sound honest. Jeremy just shrugged and went back to reading.

_I sincerely hope that what I saw was just in my imagination_. Grace thought, observing the sea with concern. _But if it wasn't, then I hope it won't come back for us anytime soon_.

* * *

In the meantime, on the deck of a ghostly ship, the two witches Ramada and Millicent had been speaking urgently to the captain and the crew. Their discussion had been about revealing the details of a blond bovine who had painted herself green to hide from the authorities hunting her down and the reason behind the reward for her capture.

"So you see captain," Millicent maintained with her arms folded across her chest. "Unless she is stopped, you and your crew may never sail this ocean to see your hidden treasures again."

"Or explore the seven dead seas," added Ramada.

Watching the captain clap two swords together, lightening streaked across the sky as if sensing the captain's fury. The witches smiled gleefully, knowing that their job here was done.

"Now that you're fully aware of the situation, we'll be going," Millicent cackled. "Remember to use this before the last light of day." She handed the captain a small brown bag, catching it in hand. Inside, something glowed a bright greenish color.

"Careful with that now," said Ramada. "Dropping it too soon would prove useless. So long and take care."

The witches vanished in a puff of green smoke to leave the rest of this to the captain and the crew.

* * *

_At the cave_

By this time, the ship had found the pirates cave, shaped like a giant human skull. Dead seagulls perched atop the rock while some had been flying around in circles. The creatures paid no attention to Grace and Jeremy as they walked inside the open mouth with a lantern. Inside several small circles began to shimmer on the wall of the cave, then dozens more. Then Grace looked down into the water and saw thousands of gold coins reflecting the light from Jeremy's lantern. What were they doing in there, she didn't know, unless this cave had been visited dozens of times by many pirates?

Moving further into the tunnel, a golden glow led them inside. In that area, Grace couldn't believe what she had seen. The entire cavern was filled with the most spectacular treasure of coins, jewels, plates, bowls, goblets, chests, all piled together in mountains as they could see. In the torchlight hung on the rocky walls, Grace felt hypnotized by the glitter on the bars of silver; gold boxes set with diamonds; rings with other sparkling jewels; rubies large and small; great strings of pearl necklaces; brightly colored silk sheets; and piles of gold dust.

_Will you look at all this gold_? She thought to herself in astonishment. _This whole cave of treasure is enough to pay off a thousand debts_.

"Remember Grace," Jeremy tapped her shoulder, snapping her back to reality. "We didn't come all this way for treasure hunting. We're here for the blue pearl. An item like that would be inside a seashell in a watery area. Keep your eyes open."

Grace sighed in disappointment, knowing that Jeremy was right. Even if she wanted to, she would never be able to carry a speck of gold from this world to the other world. It belonged in this world and would probably disappear by the time she got back to her own world. At least that's what she had guessed. She followed Jeremy through the cave, finding nothing but more gold coins, crowns, necklaces, and wrist bands. The blue pearl had to be somewhere. The skeleton on the chest wasn't making it any easier.

"Let's look in there," Jeremy pointed to a different tunnel, listening to the sound of some kind of waterfall inside.

Grace shrugged, not wanting to argue or protest. In this area were tiny hermit crabs swimming in the ocean water, not too deep in here. Dozens of seashells were littered about with more gold coins in piles. Any one of these could hold the blue pearl, but how would they know which is the right one? When it seemed hopeless, Jeremy lifted his lantern high to shine on a ledge of solid rock with only a series of stone stairs, not so high. A light from the last few moments of daylight shone through a crack above on the rock.

"I think that's it, let me go check," Jeremy stated, moving over to the steps.

Grace watched him from the entrance of the tunnel, hoping that was where the blue pearl sat. She never thought that something unexpected could happen to her at this moment. But at the moment when a rough gloved hand came over her mouth to pull her back out, she had been proven wrong.

At the top of the sold rock, Jeremy found a big seashell the size of his hand, holding a blue pearl more solid and shining than the rest of the pearls in this cave. That had to be the one.

"There it is," he whispered, smiling as he grabbed it and placed it carefully in the bag. "Hey Grace, I found it. Now we can go…" he turned around to see that Grace was not there. "Grace, Grace, where did you run off to this time." Curious he walked out of the tunnel and back into the treasure room. In there, Jeremy gasped. A band of vicious looking pirates in rotting green skin had captured Grace, who was standing next to a one-eyed pirate with a black patch and tattoos over his body, keeping hold of her around the neck with his sword pointed at her left cheek. Each pirate had been armed with cutlass and pistol, shining and ready for use. A few had knives in their teeth. The heads of several were covered with knotted kerchiefs. Some wore silk waistcoats and ruffled capes, no doubt looted from trading ships that now sat wasted at the bottom of the sea since that's what pirates were known to do. All the savage men had their eyes on the two landlubbers in their secret cave and they were not happy about it. While Jeremy had been distracted with inspecting the pearl, the pirates managed to tie her front legs together and gag her quietly. Although Grace had been aware of the protection from her guardian stone, she remembered that it could not protect her from bondage, unless it counted as a spell trying to harm her. She struggled, but for an undead pirate, his arms were huge and strong. He laughed a mean, ugly laugh, taking pleasure out of her struggling.

"Ahoy there land lubber!" Two pirates had jumped on Jeremy, snatching the traveling bag and tying his arms behind his back.

"Take these scurvy sea rats back to the Cannonball Combat!" One of them commanded. The pirates forced Jeremy on his feet as they led him and Grace back to their ship. The other ship that the two rode on had disappeared, leaving Jeremy to believe if he must have been scared off and forced to leave the two alone with these venomous undead pirates. The pirate ship outside the cave was the largest Grace had ever seen, and the most frightening. Its sails were ragged and black, torn at the ends, and aged with decay while attached to three separate masts. An ornately carved figurehead of a woman with large eagle wings hung on the bow of the ship. No matter how beautiful it seemed, Grace felt her insides tingling with fright, especially when the pirate still holding onto her had forced her to step on the rail leading up to the ship which the pirates referred to as the Cannonball Combat. It took a couple of minutes for the ship to finally depart and set sail across the sea into the distance.

Back on the island, no one was aware that the Red Eye Gang stood there watching the ship leave after they had arrived too late to capture the wanted bovine for the reward. Cliff Cleaver being the foul tempered, vicious outlaw that he was roared at a high pitch, kicking the sand. All that time he and his gang traveled miles and miles away from Ghost Town just to lose that annoying bovine again to a band of cutthroat pirates. Fighting against them for the reward was an unlikely risk, considering that his gang had only four members against a dozen more on the ship.

When Cliff no longer bellowed, Blackheart Bill finally spoke up. "So what do we do now boss?"

Cliff was silent for a moment before he answered grimly. "I'll tell you what we do." His voice growled. "We're gonna forget bout that wretched bovine fugitive and go back to doin' what we do best. Honestly, who cares bout that stupid reward? I shoulda realized that she was cleverer from the start o' this pointless journey. That's why we keep losin' her." He turned to face his three henchmen. "We'll go back to Ghost Town and declare that she's dead, drowned in a shipwreck or dead by sea serpents. But first…" he had his eyes on the pirates cave. "…I think we hit the jackpot."

The Red Eye Gang knew that he was talking about the treasure inside the cave as they followed him to gather whatever it is they could and return back to Ghost Town. None of them cared anymore about the reward now that they found real hidden treasure to take with them. Perhaps they had not come all this way for nothing after all.

* * *

_Aboard the Cannonball Combat_

The Cannonball Combat sailed through the misty sea as it was destined to do for all time. Some of the most wicked and bloody deeds in pirate history were carried out on this vessel. This devious ship had a dark history of carrying out a number of merciless crimes against ports, towns, and trading ships where they would attack with pistol and cannons, terrorizing a number of citizens, murdering for their goods, especially their bags of gold which all pirates desired.

Grace and Jeremy were bound to the mast together, listening and watching the wild buccaneers shouting heavily and laughing while leaning over the edge of the ship. Another group was busy gambling and another singing and dancing about the life of a pirate. Grace sat on her haunches against the mast with her front ankles still tied. The air filled with wild fiddle music and bagpipes playing. The strong waves of the ocean splashed the sides of the ship, causing Grace to feel a little seasick as salty spray stung her eyes. Listening to the jeers, shouts, and ugly laughter, she felt mortified that she had not noticed the pirates coming too soon back at the cave. Then she and Jeremy wouldn't be here.

"I wish I could have seen this coming," Grace apologized. "Sorry for not being a better friend Jeremy. Now look where we are."

Jeremy sighed, shaking his head. "It's not your fault Grace. I doubt that I could have seen this coming. But now's not the time for self pity. Maybe if we're lucky, this ship will take us where we need to be."

Grace nodded confidently. No matter how bad this situation seemed, a hero never quits too soon. He or she would know their enemies first before taking action. The pirates' singing made her feel nervous while others slept, sprawled on the deck as if they were exhausted from a hard days work. Drunken pirates danced wildly, making her jump in fright at their disgusting faces and gold teeth.

"I didn't imagine that my adventure on the high seas would be compared to this catastrophic result!" Grace cried.

Then, as if someone had spoken of the devil himself, the dark figure of a large woman slowly stepped out of the fog and onto the deck. The entire crew of pirates fell silent at her appearance. Grace and Jeremy looked up to face this shadowy figure. Grace's jaw dropped in complete shock and horror. Unlike the rest of the crew on this pirate ship, this woman's skin was a ghostly white with a patch over her right eye covering a hideous red scar. Her lips were black as ebony and her left eye pierced with madness. Her bushy fiery red hair wove in long, flowing curls, blown by the wind with lightening scattering across the thunder skies. She wore gold earrings, rings on her right and only hand with a sharp hook attached to her left arm in place of the other. On top of her head was a black kerchief underneath her fanciful black pirate hat with a red feather. She wore a leathery, dark, red velvet jacket with pistol, sword, and small brown bag attached to her black belt. Stepping closer on deck, her left leg held no black boot like her right foot. In its place was a strong wooden peg. A skeletal parrot flew out of the rigging and landed on her shoulder.

"I give ye landlubbers," the tattooed pirate named Duke Cannon presented to the two prisoners. "Our leader…Captain Ruby Bellows!"

Grace gulped, scared senseless when she realized that this fearsome, tall woman was in fact the Captain of the Cannonball Combat. The pirates shouted in high praise, calling her Captain Ruby for short, which made her most extremely pleased. In secret, Grace had been expecting the captain to be a man, but later learned that most villainous women were usually scarier than the men. She was the largest, darkest, and meanest of her entire crew. With her hook, she could tear and rip through any enemy she chose, later throwing the body into the sea. That was the most terrifying thing about Captain Ruby, and it made Grace feel more uncomfortable, not wanting to feel that thing close to her face.

Ruby stepped forward and Grace clamped her mouth shut right away to avoid losing her tongue to the sword, if that's what the captain was thinking. She turned her head away, not wanting to look into the piercing, dangerous expression on her face the moment she stood in front of them.

"And what do my eyes behold!" growled the captain in an accent unknown to Grace.

"Behold!" squawked the parrot.

"We found'em Captain," saluted Duke. "Just like ye ordered. Aye, they be trespassing on our hideout stealing our treasure."

"But we weren't there to steal any of it!" Grace disputed…big mistake she made in interrupting a pirates conversation with another crew member, especially if the captain was involved.

Captain Ruby gave Grace a dark look and pointed her sword at her throat. "Rule number four on this ship states DON'T SPEAK UNLESS YE BE SPOKEN TO! One more word outta that mouth and I'll slice yer tongue off to stick in me own collection below deck!"

"Below deck!" squawked the parrot.

_Not if my stone can prevent that_. Thought Grace, feeling more confident that the pirates would not dare to harm her with their weapons. Those harsh words from the captain kept her from uttering those words she was thinking. Captain Ruby slowly took the sword away and turned back to her discussion with Duke.

"Well done Duke Cannon," Captain Ruby smiled like the amused mother of a small child. "These landlubbers are just as those two scurvy hags described."

"What now Captain?"

The captain squinted her good eye. "We sail to the dark ocean before dusk. When the last light touches the sea, that'll be the signal." She shoved him aside. "Now make yerself scarce."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Duke Cannon rushed down below deck for other important matters.

Four other pirates by the name of Gold Eye, Salt Eye Samuel, Fingers, and Iron Screw moved up close to Captain Ruby as she smirks down at the two prisoners, preparing to ask them questions.

"So…while we're waiting for the last light o' day, it's time for us to have a little talk with ye landlubbers," she grinned, revealing a set of a few gold teeth.

The four pirates laughed meanly behind her.

"Like what?" asked Grace.

"Like what might ye two be doing in me treasure cave?" Captain Ruby hissed impatiently. "Any blasted sailor knows better than to step foot in there, lest they prefer to answer to the likes o' me!" She held up her hook in front of the two furiously. "Furious Captain Ruby of the Cannonball Combat!"

"Bu…but…we were only looking for seashells, not gold…honest," Grace stuttered timidly, trying to think of a good excuse. "We found the…c…c…cave by accident while seashell hunting." She stopped stuttering and finished with a fake smile. "It's a favorite hobby of ours."

Jeremy tried to shush her to prevent any aggravation, but it was no use.

"LIARS!" Captain Ruby roared. "I don't buy it. Let's have a look, shall we."

Iron Screw held up the traveling bag for Ruby to pull open with her hook. All she saw was two tea bags, blankets, pillows, a small bottle; three black roses still fresh, and a seashell. The rest of the food was gone. Jeremy stared worriedly, hoping that the captain would not throw those needed items overboard. He and Grace grew more nervous when Captain Ruby picked up the seashell with the shining blue pearl. Inspecting it further, Ruby glared at the two suspiciously, making them cringe.

"Now ye two landlubbers, tell dear Ruby where ye found this pearl!" She demanded.

"Uh…my mama gave it to me for my birthday?" Grace answered without thinking.

Ruby clapped the seashell shut and roughly threw it back in the bag impatiently.

"Tell our captain the truth landlubber!" Gold Eye hissed.

"SHUT UP!" Ruby shouted at her men.

"Stop this, I don't know what else you're accusing us of, but we're not interested in your treasure!" Grace shouted angrily. "Just let us go and we'll leave you alone with the rest of your treasure hunting. We're on an important mission elsewhere and we don't have time to waste with being your prisoners. Let us go!"

"AARRRRR!" Ruby growled venomously, taking up her sword to point it at the two. "Afraid I can't do that ye see. Me n' the crew knows o' yer reasons for prowling through this world like a black-hearted sea dog."

"WHAT?" Grace was stunned. Did Ruby mean that she and the pirates know about her secret? How was that possible?

"Yer no ghoul, yer a real live fleshy cow!" Ruby cackled with a malicious grin. "Two witches reported that there'd be a live bovine out in the oceanic continent out to sabotage our voyage. And we can't allow that to happen." The pirate Fingers handed her a book for her to open and read. "By order of the laws on me ship, all who oppose the captain's commands shall…WALK THE PLANK!"

**AN**: _Uh-oh, what will happen in the next chapter? Will they be able to make it to Lucinda's home wherever that is? Or did their luck ran out. Again, I did a little research on pirate lore to make things a little less innaccurate. Also I wanted to make sure this didn't sound too familiar to Pirates of the Caribbean considering a lot of people love the movie trilogy, including me. Don't know if I did much of a good job on the pirates' accent, but I tried my best. Let's hope I'll do a better job with the next chapter. Since October is almost over, it gives me plenty of time to finish the last remaining chapters on the way. Hopefully it won't take long. Stay tuned._


	17. Out in the Mist

**Chapter sixteen: Out in the Mist**

"Last light ahead, ahoy!" Shouted the pirate, from the crow's nest.

"Shiver me timbers!" Duke Cannon gasped at the horizon ahead of them. "That'll be the signal to bring out the plank. I best be pipin' up the crew!" He blew out his whistle just as Captain Ruby had ordered him to do when they were near their location. The pirate crew, armed with swords, daggers, and muskets, quickly assembled on the deck to finally watch the prisoners walk the plank.

Before the last light of day was approaching, Captain Ruby had first tested Grace and Jeremy by giving them an offer to join her crew if they had no wish to walk the plank or remain her prisoners. If they did join, they would be given plenty of free tattoos, gold, and be trained to fight in combat in during each attack on trading ships and towns; anything their heart desired. The two bravely declined, wanting no part in any criminal acts, especially for Grace. What use would a bovine like her be in a crew? She thought the whole idea ridiculous and wrong. She'd never betray her friends or family to a band of bloodthirsty undead pirates. That would mean she'd have to be a real restless ghoul to join in their crew. She would not have it. No words could describe Grace's intense fear and hatred of the pirates who had the nerve to want to harm her and Jeremy. What had she ever done to them or anyone else who captured or mistreated her in this world? Maybe most villains didn't need a real reason for the crimes they committed, but whatever it was, Grace didn't want to know. Captain Ruby wasn't bothered. In truth, she would have no use for them in her crew anyway, not even Grace. During the last hour before sundown, Ruby scolded the pirates when a few became too wild, reminding them that they still had a job to conduct. Watching her prisoners walk the plank was pure entertainment for pirates to watch.

"Get the plank ready crew!" Ruby ordered. "The last light is upon us!"

"Aye aye Captain!"

But before the plank could be brought out, Ruby took out the same small bag given by the two witches, opened it and threw a handful out to the spot where the light touched the calm sea. Afterwards she gestured to two pirates to bring the plank out into position. Throwing the enchanted dust onto the sea had created a slimy, glowing, whirlpool no bigger than the ship. Out of it came four slimy green tentacles like an octopus, ready to devour its victims. There was no doubt that victim would soon be Grace.

Apparently Grace stood next to the start of the plank meaning that she would be the first to go before Jeremy. The whirlpool waited underneath the plank as Grace, blindfolded with her front ankles shackled, could hear disgusting, gurgling growls that were making her feel queasy. Jeremy was blindfolded too with his hands tied behind his back.

"The beast looks hungry for ye lass," Duke Cannon whispered in her ear.

Grace felt her heart skip a beat to hear him say that, wishing that she would wake up from this nightmare. She wanted to make herself feel brave, but her courage melted away, and she stood shivering in fright. They were going to feed her to some sort of sea monster. Even if she did try to fight back, there were too many armed pirates to face and the sea was full of the deadliest, mythical creatures to think about taking a swim. The only good thing good about being blindfolded was that she didn't have to see the appearance of the monster as she was being prepared to walk to her doom. Before they could hoist her up, Grace listened closely to the thunderous footsteps belonging to Captain Ruby.

"The time has come heifer," Ruby sneered with pleasure. "Yer life stands beyond the dark waters o' the endless abyss. For it is said that the sea itself is a cruel mistress, claiming what she holds onto for eternity." Grace could feel her hot breath against her cheek, flinching. "I offered ye two landlubbers a chance to sail with me n' me crew forever in paradise. Yer life woulda been spared by the jaws o' the beast. One last chance. Me crew…or the beast."

Grace turned her head away in disgust. Even if she were to walk the plank anyway, she'd rather die than spend eternity on a pirate ship.

Anger flashed across the captain's face. This bovine's defiant silence spoke more than a thousand words. "Yer refusal seals yer doom!" She roared in her ear. Then Ruby turned to the crew. "Hoist her up ye black hearted sea dogs!"

"Aye aye Captain!"

Two pirates held Jeremy by the shoulders as he listened in dismay to the rest of the pirates pushing Grace up toward the plank.

_I wish there was another way to escape_. Grace thought sadly, holding her head high as she walked slowly onto the plank and out over the placid waters where the beast in the slimy whirlpool awaited her fall. Although she couldn't see through the blindfold, she could hear the bloodthirsty, undead pirates shouting impatiently on deck behind her. _I'm sorry Jeremy_, Grace thought, keeping her head up. _Sorry I got you banished from your home. Me, I might as well be trapped in this world forever. But at least I won't be joining in any pirate crew_. She thought of these last words before taking the step that would land her in the company of the sea monster. Evidently Grace had felt herself reach the end of the plank and hesitated. Tears moistened through the blindfold, knowing this was it. If only she were awake. Taking a deep breath, Grace slowly lifted her right hoof, preparing to drop into the jaws of the beast. _I'll never be one of them, I'd rather die_, Grace thought to herself. Before taking another step forward, she didn't see Captain Ruby, tired of waiting, shake the plank with her booted leg, finally watching Grace tumble off the end, screaming as she plummeted into the slimy whirlpool.

Bubbles foamed around the sea monster after it caught Grace in its grasp. At first all Grace could feel was the cursed water enveloping her, pulling her down further into the throat of the sea monster. She could not breathe when the water filled her lungs to capacity. She tried to swim up, but her chained ankles made things more difficult. Plus she didn't have any strength left. Soon Grace could no longer hold her breath, and painfully choked as more water entered her body, pulling her down. If this is the end, at least she would die a brave heroine, even if she failed in her quest to destroy the Black Crystal. But that would also mean that Callie would still be dust without capturing her for the dark ceremony. So maybe she didn't fail after all.

The last thing Grace sensed before losing consciousness was her body being refilled with air and this mysterious noise that caused the sea monster to shriek in pain. If it swallowed her already, was he choking or something?

The pirates cheered in triumph as if they had won a battle. "The beast has swallowed her whole!"

"No, Grace!" Jeremy cried out in despair.

"Aw shut up landlubber!" Fingers bellowed, pushing him up onto the plank. "Now it's your turn!" The pirates took him by both arms and shoved him forward, hoping to see him suffer the same end as his companion.

However, before Jeremy was about to take his final step, he listened closely as the sea monster below roared in a high pitched scream of agony. Confused, only the pirate crew looked down below to see that the monster's tentacles were withering uncontrollably as if being harpooned by the mightiest weapon. Its cry of pain blotted out the sound of thunder. Giant lightening bolts tore through the sky, striking into the slimy whirlpool in which the sea monster glowed and sizzled. The tentacles lashed out before the beast spit out some sort of white glowing figure from its jaws that landed on deck of the ship. Then the beast disappeared like a sinking ship along with the whirlpool.

All eyes of the crew turned to the figure on the deck, except Jeremy who was still standing on the plank in confusion, still wondering what's going on. While no one was looking, he carefully moved backward without losing his balance. If that was Grace the beast had spit out, he wanted to know if she was alright. He had to know. Grace might have been responsible for getting him banished from Hollow Town, but it was accidental and unintended for her to do so since he was one of the only decent and friendlier ghouls in the land of the dead that she met. Maybe he was a little upset with her for that incident, yet to him Grace was still a good friend throughout the journey, despite her flaws. Friends never abandon each other under any circumstances. Jeremy was willing to stick to that vow.

"Aye Captain, the beast has spit her out!" yelled Duke Cannon.

"Let me see!" Fingers exclaimed, pushing two other pirates aside.

Spit her out? Did they mean that Grace was not swallowed by the beast at all? But how was that possible? Jeremy kept moving back quietly and cautiously to listen.

"What'd ye mean spit her out ye halfwit?" Captain Ruby spat, coming over to have a look. To her surprise, there was Grace sprawled on the deck, still chained and blindfolded, lying motionless. Another surprise was that the green paint had been washed off, revealing her gold hide. Ruby gasped at the sight. "No, it cannot be! No pirate has ever escaped the jaws o' the sea beast! How could this happen?"

"Maybe…she tastes foul?" Duke guessed.

Ruby spun around and caught Duke by the shirt with her hook. "Then why don't ye take a swim…YE BILGE RAT!" She angrily threw the offending pirate over the side of the ship, landing with a splash. Since he was already dead, he would eventually climb his way back up. She turned back to the crew. "Anyone else wanna say something?" She demanded in a thunderous tone that caused the pirates crew to take a step back, shaking their heads in response.

"But Captain, what do we do now that the beast won't swallow her?" Gold Eye spoke bravely in hopes that he would not anger Ruby any further.

"I'll kill her myself, that's what I'll be doin'," Ruby responded, raising her cutlass up in the air, preparing to finish Grace off. "Then I'll use her gold hide for me blanket."

Jeremy was stunned to hear that and moved himself further down until a pirate noticed him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Still unaware of the guardian stone's protection against all harm, Ruby brought down the cutlass upon Grace. The stone suddenly sparkled, creating a protective sphere around Grace, breaking the cutlass in two. Staring at her broken half sword, Ruby stared down at the stone, taking notice of its beautiful shine. Everyone had gasped at how the sword had no effect on harming Grace.

"She's protected!" The voice of Jeremy shouted to the captain. "As long as she wears that stone, no evil force can harm her. No ordinary weapon can break through either. Try touching her and that stone will burn your hand right off. That must be why the beast spit her out!"

"Protected eh?" Ruby hissed. "If that be the case, we'll still see to it that ye two pass on to Davy Jones' locker real soon!"

* * *

It all happened too quickly when the entire crew came down upon them like a pack of wolves, dragging Jeremy and an unconscious Grace, tossing them and their traveling bag into a longboat that had been tied securely to the side of the ship. Cutting the ropes, the longboat landed on the sea with a loud splash. It was able to hold Grace, despite her heavy weight. Sensing what was happening, Jeremy found out that the pirates were planning to have them be lost at sea with no hope of finding their way out of the fog. He had not seen the waves splash against the longboat that stirred them away from the Cannonball Combat.

"Bon voyage ye landlubbers!" He heard Ruby call out. "There'd be no way out through the fog that rolls in. You'd best be goin' round in circles till ye drop! Not even yer compass can help ye!" She laughed diabolically with the pirates joining in on her. "If it weren't for that stone I'd finish ye off me self. But then I remembered there'd be far worse fates than death! So long now!"

The pirates laughter grew softer every minute until all was silent, except the strong waves. Thinking about Grace, Jeremy struggled in his bonds in hopes that he would slip out of them and help her regain consciousness. He smiled brightly when he already felt the rope becoming loose and kept on wiggling. In a matter of seconds, he managed to free his wrists and moved on to remove his blindfold. There he saw Grace still motionless since her fall from the plank. Wasting no time, Jeremy got her to lie flat on her back in the middle of the longboat and push down on her stomach at least eight times to get that seawater out of her mouth. During that time, Grace remained unconscious until a sudden surge of power filled her insides. She gasped, sitting upright and coughing out the last bits of sea water from her body. Jeremy patted her back a bit to help her regain her breath.

"Where am I?" She panicked.

"It's alright Grace," Jeremy spoke in her ear, unraveling the knot of her wet blindfold.

Fluttering her eyes, her vision was blurry, but became clear within a few moments when she saw that Jeremy was fine and untied. Her front ankles were still shackled however, but now the only question ringing in her mind was how they both got on this boat when they should have been in the jaws of the beast by now.

As if reading her mind, Jeremy answered. "Although I couldn't see how it happened, I heard the pirates gather around after the beast spit you back out on the deck. It must have been the power of the stone that saved you, even when Captain Ruby tried to finish you off with her cutlass." He sighed as he maintained. "Then when I told the crew about the stones protection, they tossed both of us into this longboat, hoping that we'll be lost at sea instead if they can't kill us."

"Is that what happened?" Grace inquired without sounding upset. "Why would I be upset with a friend who at least did something to get us away from those pirates? I'm glad of that to tell you the truth. Me, I'd prefer being stuck out here than trapped on that ship." Jeremy nodded in agreement to her statement. She scratched at her chained ankles thoughtfully. "But I was thinking…I wanted to say that I'm…sorry."

"Sorry…sorry for what?" Jeremy questioned.

"I mean I'm sorry for getting you kicked out of your village," Grace confessed weakly. "If it weren't for my thoughtlessness, you wouldn't be dragged into all this danger with me." She lowered her head regretfully until Jeremy touched her shoulder.

He shook his head for reassurance. "Grace, I told you before that it's not your fault. Look at me for a minute." He saw Grace lift her head up. "Maybe I was a little upset deep down, but it was an accident waiting to happen. Even after this journey is over, maybe there will be a better place to stay than in Hollow Town. No matter what happened from the start, I'm still glad to have met you and helped out when you needed it. We've made it this far now. Don't ever forget that."

Grace nodded her head, trying to smile through her fearful feelings. They might have gotten this far, but they were not yet out of the fog in this place. No matter what Captain Ruby said to them, the two were determined and confident that they would find their way out of this fog. Because Grace had her ankles chained, she volunteered to be the lookout while Jeremy steered away with the paddles. Sniffing the air, Grace thought she could smell a rain storm approaching.

BOOOOOM! As if on cue, her senses proved correct when a thunderclap sounded, and lightening bathed their boat in harsh light.

"Oh no, not this again!" Grace cried anxiously.

"Get down Grace or you'll fall!" warned Jeremy, still steering away. "We can't stop now. We're going to try to make it through these waves. So get down and hang on tight!"

Grace did as she was told, knowing that there was no other choice for them to make. There was no going back. A huge wave lifted their longboat and dropped them back down. The two were soaked, but unharmed. Struggling against the current, Jeremy fought to keep stirring through the storm. She didn't recall a situation of ever having to face such strong currents back at home. Who would have known the waves out at sea would be this merciless and fierce.

Knowing how strong these waves were, Jeremy struggled to see what was inside the fog as he tried to steer the boat away from anything that might cause them to crash. For Grace, there was nothing for her to do other than hope that she and Jeremy would make it out of here one way or another. Even though she might have been an athletic swimmer, jumping out to push the longboat faster would have been suicide. And if she had been swept away, Jeremy would be all alone in the storm. Grace didn't like the idea of being separated from her friend at a time like this. Cheating death from the jaws of the sea beast was a thing she did not want to go through again.

Jeremy kept on stirring and stirring, secretly hoping that the waves would sail them toward any island close to where this Lucinda lives. He kept the traveling bag safely held down with his legs as tight as he could. Then without warning, a huge wave rose high over the ship, crashing over them. A force that powerful during a furious storm out at the sea was enough for any large ship to perish beneath the ocean's abyss and end up as nothing more than a sunken ship. What if this was the real reason why Captain Ruby just decided to abandon them out here, knowing all along that there would soon be a storm waiting out in the midst of the fog?

Splinters of wood rained down on top of the ocean after that. But there was no sign of the two adventurers.

**AN**: _I know I mentioned in my last chapter that Lucinda would be mentioned, but sometimes another idea comes into my head that I just have to write it out. But this time there will be a mention of her in the next chapter for real. I guess I was wrong when I said earlier that there would be four chapters to go. I've done four already and it is still undone. Well for now there will be three chapters to go in the next couple of days. After this, no more holiday adventure stories...unless something unexpected comes into mind. But I can make no promises on too many things._


	18. Lucinda

**Chapter seventeen: Lucinda**

Somewhere within the midst of a fog sat an unfamiliar island where an old creaking cabin stood in the middle, looming silently through the leafless trees. Around the cabin was a garden of pumpkins protected by a wooden fence, large roots running inside and out. Whoever lived in there stood facing out the window, through the misty shore surrounding her island, listening in on the ocean waves. Throughout time she had been expecting someone to show up soon enough. The storm had calmed along with the waves. Hopefully they weren't struck down by the tidal waves on their way to see her for a very important mission. Despite the fog, her eyes caught scattered pieces of wood and two paddles floating towards shore. Another odd thing she caught sight of were two living forms being tossed up and down by the waves of the ocean. One was gawky and skinny while the larger one was a four legged animal, whose green coated color had been washed away, revealing her true blond hide once more. The animal was slumped over a large piece of what remained of the longboat. Once they had reached land, they stood motionless.

That must have been them. Thinking quickly, she called on her servants to step out and help her with the expected visitors.

Outside on the land, Jeremy's eyes blinked and he coughed up water. He looked around to find that he and Grace landed on some kind of island. The last thing he remembered was that huge tidal wave looming over them. In his daze and in the midst of the fog he saw Grace unconscious once again. Jeremy crawled over to shake her awake. Soon enough Grace started coughing up the water that entered her body. Although not quite fully conscious, she lifted her head slowly, feeling dizzy from that crash. She hadn't remembered much either other than the tidal wave and being dragged under the sea.

"Am I…dead yet?" She moaned in exhaustion before collapsing back down.

"No Grace," Jeremy answered, hoping she could hear well. "We're here on some island…that I don't know about." He gazed around, still finding nothing familiar but some old cabin with a garden of pumpkins. "Wait a second…maybe this is it Grace."

"Huh, I'm sorry…didn't quite get that. Think I'll take a nap," Grace droned, too exhausted to move or think. It was that feeling of deja-vu she had been experiencing. The fuzziness of her vision, the ringing in her head, and her body lying motionless from the intense storm.

Jeremy was about to wake her again until he heard the door to the cabin open. A dark, mysterious figure stepped out quickly, coming toward the two. Jeremy moved back in alarm behind Grace, not knowing what else to do in case this figure might be another enemy on their trail.

"Wait, don't be alarmed," the figure spoke in a kindly, elderly voice. "I've been expecting you two, but I hadn't predicted that our meeting would turn out this way."

She clapped her hands twice, awakening a dozen of the pumpkins that slept in her garden, bringing them to life. They crawled over the fence using their vines and stood before their mistress to wait for a command like a bunch of children.

"Bring the poor sleeping darling into the house my dears," she requested, smiling. "But be careful, I don't wish to scare her like this."

The pumpkins granted her request to go over and surround the sleeping Grace. If she had woken up right away, she would have been completely spooked.

* * *

Grace moaned softly in her sleep, now ready to wake up. When she had only been half awake after washing ashore, the seawater might have possibly caused her mind to slip in and out of consciousness, unable to tell if she had died or was still alive. Her head had been heavy with fatigue. Each time her senses failed to cooperate during risky situations, it made her glad of retreating into unconsciousness.

Within minutes her senses were operating. Again she groaned, eyelids flickering as Grace slowly became aware of her surroundings.

"Lucinda, she's awake," Jeremy said in a soft voice.

Her friend's voice became clearer when Grace heard it, slowly stirring and opening her eyes to see that she was lying close to a small fireplace with a large cauldron, warming up her cold body from the ocean. Looking around, she was inside some kind of house very reminiscent of pictures of a grandmother's cabin in fairy tales. Little knickknacks and paintings of meadows and forests covered the walls. The place smelled of a special herbal tea and cypress wood which smelled rather pleasant to her. Soon, she saw Jeremy sitting at small table, blanket wrapped over his shoulders. On the other side of the table sat a plump, elderly woman. Her choice of outfit was that of an orange robe, modeled after the pumpkins she tended. She wore a pointy hat of green color resembling a pumpkins stock and a pair of spectacles shaped like squares. Her hair was nearly white and she moved rather stiffly. This apple-cheeked woman reminded her of Pearl, in a way like a grandmother.

"Hello there dear," the old woman began in a sweet tone. "I am Lucinda, the witch of this island. Your friend here has told me all about your adventures while you were asleep."

"Wha…wait a minute!" cried Grace. "Did you say you're a witch?" She was trembling a bit in fear.

"Yes I am," answered Lucinda, blinking. "But please don't be frightened. I could never harm anybody…unless they tried to attack first. I live here on this island with my loyal helpers. They're out in the garden at the moment, resting."

"You mean…you're not gonna put a spell on me?" stuttered Grace, half frightened at finding out that the woman they were searching for all along was really a witch. She didn't even want to know who or what her loyal helpers were in form.

"Oh goodness, no," Lucinda shook her head. "I don't do that…anymore." Then she sighed in content. "But now that you asked about it, I suppose it's time for me to tell you both a little story of how I became exiled to this island…" Then her mood darkened. "…by that evil witch, Callie Coven."

Grace shuddered at the name, wishing Lucinda hadn't mentioned it. She took a deep breath, and then sighed as a test of her own to see if she was breathing properly. The deep breath came easily, indicating that there were serious injuries to her body inside. Grace allowed soft breathing to begin as she tried to focus on what Lucinda was about to tell them.

"However, there is something needed to be taken care of first," Lucinda turned to Jeremy. "Have you by any chance been able to retrieve those important ingredients?"

"You mean these?" Jeremy showed her the three black roses, bottle of mummy dust, and the blue sea pearl kept safely in its shell.

"That's them, thank you so much," Lucinda nodded, taking the items in her hands to walk over to the same large boiling cauldron at the fireplace.

They watched her throw in the three black roses first, mixing them until they melted in a purple liquid. Next she poured in the entire bottle of mummy dust, mixing it before opening the shell to drop the blue sea pearl, in which a cloud of blue smoke erupted out of the cauldron. Round and round the colorful swirls went. In five minutes of intense heat, Lucinda grabbed some kind of large stone cast from a wooden trunk and placed it on the floor so she would pour the complete potion in where a hole was carved in the middle in the shape of a sword. She waited until the whole was filled and carried it over to place it inside the oven like a loaf of bread. The two were a bit surprised to see that she didn't need any help carrying it. Lucinda turned to the two and smiled.

"Now we wait half an hour till its ready," she said gently, returning to sit at the table. "And while we're waiting, let me offer you two some of my special herbal tea to clear that saltwater out."

Grace joined at the table so she and Jeremy could drink the tea, which turned out to be bitter, but not bad. In fact, it made Grace feel a little better and less drowsy. Now she wouldn't have to be so worried about being too tired at the end of their journey. The two related their tale of the vampires, mummies, and pirates, starting off with their never ending walk in the dark forest outside the count's castle grounds. Lucinda listened closely, impressed that the two were able to make it through all that danger to retrieve those needed items. Many others were known to perish.

Grace gulped down her tea nervously, preparing to ask Lucinda a question that has been bothering her mind. "So Lucinda…how is it you know about Callie? I mean…not that I would want her appearing right at this moment in front of us having tea." She grinned sheepishly.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about her," said Lucinda, putting down her tea. Although she was a witch herself, the name of Callie Coven gave her chills. "You see my dears…this won't be easy for me to explain, but…I was once…a member of her group." Her smile changed to a grimace.

"Say what?" Grace gasped, jumping a bit.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's true," Lucinda admitted.

"But then how did you wind up on this island instead of…of…oh never mind," even Jeremy could not find the right words to ask.

"It's alright dears," Lucinda assured. "I know what you're thinking. But even for me, it won't be easy to explain things too clearly. So here it goes."

Lucinda quickly mastered the tremor that passed through her body as she glanced at the two to begin her side of the story which was not included in the book, _The Legend of Callie Coven and Other Tales_. As she first mentioned, legends and myths sometimes don't tell the whole story.

* * *

From what Lucinda could recall during her last couple days on earth at least hundreds of years ago, she had dedicated half her life to diving in the knowledge of herbs and spells to heal people of any sickness that may spread throughout town. It was all Lucinda ever wanted to do like any normal town doctor would. Only problem was that most of the townspeople were untrustworthy of anyone who lived out in the woods, practicing these strange rituals that they believed to be unholy. Of course that all depended on how anyone thought of things differently. Not everyone in town agreed to this since there were quite a few villagers who turned to Lucinda whenever they came down with some kind of sickness or bad condition. The rest of the town turned to the town doctor who Lucinda didn't mind much, knowing that she couldn't force anyone to like her or what she does best. Lucinda was indeed a Wiccan who believed in only the power of healing those in need, having no wish to be more powerful or high above anyone in this world like all other witches and warlocks who desired so much power, later corrupting them in the end. She wrote down each and every patient's name in a diary every time she had performed a healing ritual. There was nothing more Lucinda could have asked for, that is until she had accidentally come upon another group of witches who claimed they too had dedicated their life to healing.

It all happened while Lucinda was out for a walk in the distant county in search of more herbs for the medicines she mixed. She had been picking plants in the fields when six women questioned what she was up to. Their ringleader Callie Coven whose face was hidden behind a theatre mask forced her to spit out the details as if Lucinda had been trespassing on private property. Half frightened and vexed, Lucinda tried to apologize unaware that she was on their grounds if that is what Callie was on about. Then unexpectedly, Callie appeared to have a sudden change of mind when she invited Lucinda to join her group. The elderly woman politely declined, saying that she had no interest in anything more than healing. But Callie was most insistent and manipulative to add that she would still be able to master the arts of healing by something other than herbs. And if it doesn't work out for her, Lucinda could leave at anytime. Although still reluctant to this offer, Lucinda agreed on one condition, that nothing they practiced would involve harming innocent ones or killing of animals. She did not trust this woman deep down, yet couldn't seem to resist the power of the ringleader's gaze. Callie and her followers made this promise, which would later turn out to be a lie and a decision that Lucinda would later regret.

As the weeks turned to months, Lucinda had learned to cast spells during ritual practices Callie's minions claimed were part of a secret ceremony in seeking an elixir that their ringleader deeply desired above all other spells practiced. Other spells Lucinda had learned included those used for healing, for protection, fertility, or to banish negative influences with the use of white magic. Sometimes she would question Callie on what she was doing with a dead rat, cat, or whatever animals she and the others brought up. Not even the red stains on their clothing could hide anything. Her only answer from Callie was a snake like hiss, refusing to tell the reasons. Soon after that, Lucinda thought many times of stopping what she was doing, unsure if any of this was indeed the right way to help sick people; even when she grew suspicious of Callie and her minions now forcing her to take part with them on dances around the fire during the full moon, which happened thirteen nights before All Hallows Eve. It had seemed all this time that Callie had deceived her into joining their group, never planning on allowing her to leave anytime or else Lucinda would be hunted down and make folks think that her patients were spellbound by the powers of witchcraft. This was partly true, leaving Lucinda to believe that she had allowed herself to become more of a pawn in Callie's lust for power. In order to create the ingredients needed for the Elixir of Life, Callie needed someone completely foolish and trustworthy enough to believe that she was doing what she thought was right when in fact it was a plot in their quest for immortality. And now that Lucinda was one of them, she would have to drink it and do everything they do.

Bringing out a cow for a sacrifice, Lucinda realized her mistake in what she had done, now wanting no part in these wicked sacrifices, no matter what Callie threatened. Yet it was too late now that the Elixir had been created and drunk by all the witches. How could she have been so blinded by her ambition to become a powerful medical Wiccan to not see this happen sooner? Her patients will never forgive her for this and she'll be forced to go into hiding with a new identity, meaning that she'd be living a lie.

The witches' moment of triumph was soon cut short when they were caught by the villagers, all except Lucinda who dashed off into the woods in hopes of hiding to escape persecution. No one would believe that she was deceived and forced into all these evil ceremonies. Her escape didn't last long when she had accidentally run into one of the angry villagers demanding to know the whereabouts of their missing livestock. The last thing Lucinda remembered was total blackness overcoming her after being hit on the head. Somehow afterward, Lucinda could only remember waking up underneath the mansion and encountering Callie who now sat upon her new throne, calling herself the ruler among the dead. In her new form, she no longer wore the theatre mask to cover up her deformities, believing that the Elixir of Life triggered some kind of transformation that would allow her to take any form she wanted in front of all her victims. Unable to destroy Lucinda now that she had possessed powers of her own, Callie could only banish her thousands of miles away on the island out at sea, hoping the once known Wiccan could never find a way to defeat her or help anyone else to this day reveal the secrets to the whereabouts of the Black Crystal, allowing her to drain the essence of her victims each and every year. Over the next hundreds of years, souls that have likely suffered in life had somehow winded up here, including the evil ones, unable to pass on to the next life. Even Lucinda could not imagine where that Black Crystal truly came from or what sort of dark magic lurked inside. But it allowed Callie and her minions to transport the poor souls they drained inside the crystal after each ceremony, possibly driving them mad as they wait for salvation to come along so that they may one day be at peace.

* * *

"But if you're a witch, couldn't you have stopped Callie?" Jeremy interrupted.

Lucinda's expression was sad as she shook her head. "No I couldn't. Although I had possessed new spells from everything I learned, I am not as powerful as she and her minions turned out to be, or she wouldn't be at that mansion as we speak, waiting to regain her powers before the stroke of midnight. And because the eve of Halloween is the one time of night when the spirits come out to play their tricks on earth, it has also become the opportunity for Callie to prepare a deadly ritual sacrifice to maintain her immortality on the night when the full moon is in place, feeding off the fear of mortals before doing so. That way, the hero will have no courage left to fight her. With each ceremony performed on a victim, whether it be animal or human, other changes had come upon that even Callie could not predict. She was extremely powerful, physically as well as mentally, unable to age thanks to her immortality. She possessed strong senses, had the power to hide her mind and body, and turn ordinary objects into terrifying creatures. If any of you two had ever visited Pumpkin Hallow, you'd see what I mean."

"I've been there before, the first time I was brought here," Grace confessed, shaking in fear at the memory of the pumpkins almost squeezing the life out of her. "And I'd rather not be reminded of that little incident if you don't mind, not that I mean it in a rude manner." She was quiet for a moment before continuing uncomfortably. "I don't even like Halloween to tell you the truth. All of this started after listening to these campfire tales told every year. After that I can't even sleep at night."

"Well that depends on how folks celebrate it dear," Lucinda advised. "While it's true that Halloween can be scary for some, including you, it can also be a time for fun. The whole idea for costumes, parties, and handing out treats go back many centuries ago when people started to believe that disguising themselves and carving out faces on pumpkins to ward off the bad spirits. And to make a long story short, many folks still believe in superstitions and ghostly legends today. That's why they keep carving pumpkins and say a prayer of protection in case anything evil was to try barging in their house uninvited. I know I can't change your feelings about Halloween, but I will say that it can be fun and exciting with all the ghost tales, dressing up, and candy making, and dancing at parties. As strange as this may sound, sometimes it can be fun to get a little scared at Halloween time."

"Really…I never thought of Halloween that way before," Grace said timidly. "I mean…can it be fun without all the…evil happening?"

Lucinda nodded in response. "Yes dear. Halloween might have first started off on the wrong side of things centuries back, but all that has changed. But folks still take the proper precautions in protecting themselves and their loved ones just in case, so that they won't have to worry too much about danger upon them. Not all ghosts and ghouls are bad though. Anyone of them can be your friends…if you treat them nice."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind every year," Grace assented. "Thanks Lucinda."

"My pleasure dear," Lucinda said softly, turning to face the oven behind her. "And speaking of which, I do believe it's time to see if the weapon is ready."

Getting up from the table, Lucinda walked over to the oven placing soft gloves on her hands before opening up to take the stone plate out and place it in front of the table so Grace and Jeremy could have a look at the weapon those ingredients created. The two stared in awe to see the handle in pure gold as the object glowed in enchantment. If this is the magic weapon that Madame Lenora mentioned, then their hopes have lifted. Carefully, Lucinda took out the sword and placed it on the table, wrapping it up in a large white cloth.

"Take this sword as you travel to the Island of the Black Crystal," Lucinda stated cautiously. "It will break the wicked object into a million pieces, putting an end to Callie's immortality and setting the souls free once and for all. Be careful; for you are no longer protected by the power of the guardian stone that you lost at sea...oops." She clapped her hands over her mouth.

Grace gasped in shock. "WHAT?" Looking down at her neck, she panted to find that the guardian stone was gone. How could she have not noticed this earlier? Or better yet, why didn't anyone say anything. "My stone is gone? Why didn't you tell me?" She panicked; acting like a bomb had dropped on her. Then Grace started searching through the floor of the cabin, inside jars, books, under the rug, in the chimney calling out to the stone. "Where is it? It must be here some place. How could it be gone?"

"Not in my flower pot dear," pleaded Lucinda.

"Grace calm down," Jeremy said in a serious tone. "You're making a mess of things in Lucinda's house."

"But Jeremy, I have to find that stone before the full moon or we're dead!" Grace shrieked, hastily looking inside a sugar jar.

"Well you're not gonna find it in the sugar jar. It must have gotten lost at sea after we were hit by that tidal wave."

"The tidal wave? Aha, of course!" Grace zoomed out of the cabin, back to the shores of the island where they first swept up on.

"Grace wait, it's dangerous out there!" Jeremy called, rushing out to stop her from getting out of hand.

But Grace was in too much of a panic to listen, trembling as she dug holes on the beach finding nothing but seashells and crystallized rocks that she threw in a large pile. She even ignored the waves coming at her. Giving up on digging, Grace turned to face the sea, thinking if she should…

"No Grace, don't do it!"

Grace grunted, turning to see that Jeremy and Lucinda tugged hard on her tail to prevent her from taking such a dangerous, foolish risk out at sea, even without any protection.

"Forget the stone Grace; it's not worth looking for it out in those waves!" Jeremy warned. "You'd never find it!"

"But I…" Grace about to protest until Lucinda finished for her companion.

"No dear, he's right. You'd only end up losing your life in such strong currents, even when you might not have much time left to look for it. It's bad enough losing one stone of protection in this world, but to die before reaching here this far is the worst that can happen to anybody."

Slowly, Grace took a deep breath, giving herself a moment to calm down after what Lucinda told them.

"You're right," Grace said calmly, without turning her head. "I may have lost the stone, but that doesn't mean I should just…give up now. Why…because that's what those witches want from me." Grace felt herself growing bold and brave, thinking about those adventures she and her ghoulish friend went through to get this far. As for Callie, maybe it was time to put an end to her tyranny in this world and the loving once and for all, no matter what. Despite the slavery back over in Callie's region, the poor souls cried out for whatever salvation to come along. Now it was time to conquer her fears and stand up to the evil witch that tried to devour her soul. Grace could feel herself doing that at this moment. "I lost the stone, so what? We've gotten this far, haven't we? I've faced many dangers before and I'll be willing to face a whole army of nightmares to get home, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"

"Oh don't get overexcited dear," cautioned Lucinda. "Yes it's true that friendship and courage are your greatest weapons, but we're not finished discussing things yet."

"Oh right," Grace laughed a little, blushing for forgetting. "Sorry, got carried away for a moment here."

Lucinda could only smile at this bovine's brave attitude as she led the two back into her cabin to finish up on their discussion. Although Grace no longer felt as scared as she used to, she had to settle for calming down upon remembering why Callie had brought her back here in the first place. While its true that even heroes get scared sometimes, Grace was not about to give in to the likes of that evil hag, whether they get to that island in time or not. Stone or no stone, she had tried her best in protecting it so far instead of not trying at all. That would have been the real failure in their quest.

Inside, Lucinda handed the two a container of salt, instructing them to create a circle around them for better protection against the evil hags in case they should ever show up sooner than expected. Thinking back to what Lucinda mentioned of learning white magic, Grace began to wonder if maybe it was the good witch who saved her all along.

**AN**: _Finally, two chapters to go and I'm done. I would have updated this on Halloween but I've been distracted by things. Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long to update. I won't the final encounter to be as spooktacular, epic, and gothic as much as possible. Since that is how most final battles end. Stay tuned._


	19. The Final Nightmare

**Chapter eighteen: The Final Nightmare**

Underneath the mansion of the sacrificial chamber, Callie cackled with venomous glee. Each of the five witches stood still in front of the pillars, glowing ominously in red while helping their mistress to regain her powers. Electricity spurted from each of their hands like lightening, engulfing her in a twirling sphere of dark fire.

Callie took a grim pleasure as she could feel the powers being absorbed into her undying immortal body, strengthening her powers even better than before. Lightening struck down from the sky, encircling the dark mistress.

"Come dark powers, do your worst!" Callie commanded. "Make me invincible!"

Over Callie's laughter, it sang out loud and clear, no longer low and weak since the first time her powers had weakened. Then slowly, Callie's form changed. Even behind the black cloak covering her entire body, her enormous body she had last used to transform into a wicked version of Mrs. C turned slender. The hooves became pale skinned, bony hands with fingernails that looked like claws. She stood on two legs, wearing long black boots, and her face was transformed into that of a beautiful, yet sinister looking black-haired woman with red, glowing eyes.

* * *

_Meanwhile_

Lucinda bid the two farewell as their newly repaired longboat, fixed by her magic, sailed away from her island, wishing them a safe journey to the Island of the Black Crystal. She had conducted a spell of protection against the powers seeping within the six pillars that guard the crystal of souls. Without it, the dark magic would eat away at their mind and drive them insane until they died; except for Jeremy, who would just suffer endlessly. It was all Lucinda could provide for the rest was up to them. The good witch couldn't go with them since it was not her destiny to stop Callie.

Feeling more confident than before, Grace had thanked Lucinda for everything before she and Jeremy left on the longboat. Callie may be a powerful witch, but even that didn't stop Grace from believing that she was going to get out of this world alive. In fact, she and her friends had always gotten themselves out of a pickle in each situation on all their adventures and misadventures. Yet as long as they stayed true to their friendship, courage, and teamwork, nothing would stop them from believing in themselves. This time, Grace was determined to stick to that vow and not turn back for one second.

The brave bovine stared boldly out at the sea, fearing nothing, well not entirely. If there was anything left that Grace feared, it was being trapped in this world forever, at the mercy of the wicked witches while the poor souls would be left to suffer forever. The thought of that scared her a bit, but Grace would not allow it to come true.

_I don't care anymore if Callie is a witch_. Grace thought bravely. _I refuse to let my adventures end here. So what if she has powers of her own? If those witches want my soul, they'll have to catch me first. Without me, Callie is nothing and she knows that_.

Unfortunately, Grace still had to remember not to underestimate any dark powers that she may last encounter on her way to the island. This was the land of the dead after all. Before leaving Lucinda's place, the good witch told her that even after this is over, some of the lost souls may choose to stay here while others will likely wish to pass on to the next life. And someone else may have to look after Ghost Town to fix things up.

Having no more time to ask questions, Grace could only ponder what waited for her and Jeremy on the Island of the Black Crystal and the rest of the world. To save herself and those poor souls, she feared deep down that her heroic actions might not be enough to put a stop to Callie's evil plot. All she could do was wait till they reached that island and see what happens next. Time may be growing shorter.

* * *

The minutes that passed seemed like hours since they left Lucinda's island. Yet the moment the longboat passed out of the fog, they could see a dark island looming ahead, purple lightening striking ominously across the sky, black clouds encircling above like a vortex. It gave Grace a feeling of terror, realizing that this was to be their final destination. Taking a closer look, six stones with cultic letters stuck out of the ground to form a circle around a sinister object of dark magic. Unable to make it out clearly, it looked like the object was turning around slowly; floating an inch above the alter it rested upon. This was the same island as in Fire Flower's dream vision back in the cave at Phantom Valley.

"The Island of the Black Crystal," Jeremy said, paddling the longboat closer. "We made it Grace. The crystal must be floating in the middle of the stone pillars, but we must hurry. No telling how much time we have left. Even after this is over, it means…means…" His voice suddenly trailed off, smile disappearing to be replaced with a sad frown.

"Means what Jeremy?" Grace asked, turning to him curiously.

"Uh…never mind Grace, let's just kept rowing," Jeremy replied, refusing to answer her. "I'll tell you about it when we land."

"If you say so," Grace shrugged, turning to face the island again, respecting his words. "Whatever it is, I can wait…really I can."

Watching the island grow closer, the past events over at Hollow Town came back to Jeremy when he thought of how all the villagers becoming the victims of spiritual entrapment, meaning that Callie must have placed a curse on the town to prevent them from leaving, explaining their descent into madness. If Callie's curse was broken, that would mean they would be free, including him. Jeremy knew he would have to tell Grace soon that he would no longer be a lost soul trapped in the land of the dead. If their mission succeeds, his soul would finally be at peace. He knew that he had already helped Grace to where she needed to be. He would never see her again. It saddened him to think of having to leave a friend from the mortal world, yet at the same time he longed to be free of the curse and pass on to the next life where there would be no more sorrow, fear, anger, or doubt. But for now, his mind turned back to the island.

Finally the longboat pushed ashore on the dark beach. Grace swallowed fearfully, trying her best to stay brave. The dark, unpleasant presence on this island made her legs quiver as she fought to stay focused. It gave her a feeling of hearing an ominous choir singing in her mind while she and Jeremy moved closer every second. Even the ghoul felt uncomfortably frightened at the sight of this place. It was no wonder Callie wanted to keep the crystal protected out in the darkest depths where no soul dares to tread. The two stuck close together as they stepped up cautiously.

Grace gasped at the sight of the largest, blackest, crystal she had ever seen, twirling around slowly as if waiting to devour a victim. It was hard to believe that this sort of unholy object was the key to Callie's immortality; the same as it being revealed as the heart of darkness.

"Please tell me this crystal I'm staring at is not the heart of darkness," Grace whimpered.

"When you put it that way Grace, then that's what it is," Jeremy answered, slowly digging into the traveling bag for the can of salt. "Now it's time to get things started."

Grace turned around, watching Jeremy walk backwards to form a circle of salt around the alter with her already inside of it. While he was busy, Grace thought she heard a sound, turning to face the crystal. Something was glowing inside of it, frightening her.

"Who's there?" Came a soft, ghostly voice from within. "Has thou come to save us from the evil one?"

Grace was confused for a moment, and then asked the voice a question. "You mean…Callie Coven?"

There was no response, so Grace moved a bit closer to the crystal and saw a face of a little pigtailed girl wearing a bonnet and pioneer dress. Her face was all gloomy. She was not alone. Hundreds of other tiny souls swam about like sea pods in the ocean. Among them were a golden retriever, black cat, wild stallion, Holstein cow, brown burro, old farmer, several young boys and girls in colonial outfits, a pilgrim man and woman, a union soldier, and a confederate soldier floated around with grim expressions. A few other men and women floating inside looked to be a few cowboys, cowgirls, saloon girls, land owners, Mexicans, and a whole bunch of other cows, horses, and burros that Grace couldn't help but pity them deeply. All those tales of Callie preying on the innocent, the young ghosts must be the missing children from long ago that started to disappear a year after her execution on earth.

But to make sure of it, Grace asked nervously, "Are all of you…the lost souls that disappeared from earth long ago?"

"That…we are," answered the same pigtailed girl, lips not moving.

The voice felt rather eerie for Grace, listening to it. But she asked again, "Can you remember anything…I mean, before being trapped in there?"

"Nobody here remembers much. But I remember my family…and my farm."

That wasn't much of an answer. Yet for a ghost, maybe it's always been hard for them to recall the past from hundreds of years. Whatever the reason, Grace listened some more.

"I can't even remember the name o' my ranch," said the old farmer. "It all happened so long ago that time has seemed to erase my memories. Time beyond reckonin'."

"Go back young bovine," the union soldier pleaded. "Don't let that evil witch catch you here. You'll only share the same fate as us. The last thing I recall is hiding out in the woods until that same dark shadow covered me. Next thing I knew, I was bound to a stone table, surrounded by those wicked hags."

"Couldn't have said the same thing for me," said the confederate soldier in a southern accent. "No lost soul can remember their old names after a long, sufferin', tragic death like this. But my memories o' my home cling longer than my memory o' the world. Leavin' home was the worst mistake o' my life. Now look where I ended up."

The voices of these ghosts sounded so sad that Grace wanted to think of a way to comfort them, even though that seemed impossible as long as they were trapped in here with no escape. Thanks to Callie Coven, these spirits have abandoned all hope and joy, feeling nothing but sadness, fear, insanity, and spiritual suffering; some of them lamenting for more than a hundred years, being robbed of their joy.

"Poor ghosts," said Grace sympathetically. "Listen carefully, all of you. I know how you feel in there, but me and my friend…we've come to get you out."

"No, you'll never break this crystal!" the little girl ghost exclaimed. "Nothing can break it. Flee this island. Flee, while there is still blood flowing through your veins!"

"No possible way," Grace protested. "We can't leave without setting you free. We have a weapon here that will break that crystal into a million pieces. Plus, it is me that Callie wants. But I won't allow it." She knew herself that escaping out of this world was inevitable on her own the whole time she spent here. Now this was her last chance.

Finished with the ring of salt around them, Jeremy took out the glowing sword by the handle and moved over to the crystal.

"Stand back Grace," he told her, raising the sword up high. "Don't know how this thing will do its job."

Grace took a few steps back, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was not out of the circle of salt that Jeremy made. She stared with hope and encouragement, knowing that any second; this would be the end of her nightmares in this world.

To make sure no sharp piece would hit her in the face or chest, Grace dove to the ground for better cover in hopes that it would be enough to brace herself. Because the stone pillars were outside the ring, she could not think of jumping out and standing behind any of them. Covering her face, she waited and listened for the stone to smash. But unfortunately, nothing happened as her ears put it. Opening one eye, she saw nothing change. No broken shard or anything. With both eyes bolted open, she turned to find in shock that Jeremy had been frozen solid in ice! The only thing that hadn't been frozen was the sword. She gasped in both confusion and fear, immediately sitting back up and moving over to wake him.

"Jeremy!" she cried. "What happened here?"

"Darling, why would you be near the crystal?" a dark voice interrupted somewhere, making Grace jump. "I thought you might have grown accustomed to staying here."

Eyes widening in horror, she knew it was the voice she dreaded to hear again. Turning to the black crystal, she was right to guess who had been hiding behind there and stepped out to reveal herself as none other than the evil Callie Coven. Only this time, she was in a far different, frightening form instead of being a fake Mrs. Calloway. If this was her real form, Grace had the thought of making a run for it, but only turned her head away, unable to gaze at her face for another second. Her black hair was spiked and greasy, she had deep red scars all over her demonic, vampire-like face, she had bony gray hands, fingers, arms, and legs, and on the inside her long black dress and cloak, Grace could tell that it might have looked like a skeletons, leaving the same hunched back in place. Her dark, piercing eyes glowed red, making Grace shiver.

_Be strong Grace_, the young bovine whispered in her mind. _You're not going to run away anymore if that's what Callie wants you to do_. Her legs stopped shivering.

"What's going on here?" Callie asked in a displeased tone of voice. "Why won't you cower or run away from me like last time?" She was getting rather irritated.

"I'm not…huh!" Grace gasped before she could finish, turning her head around to find that the five witches suddenly appeared, standing in front of five of the six pillars, floating closer, hissing like snakes. Luckily for Grace, she found that the hags could not step over the circle of salt. She was protected from them, but not from Callie, confusing her.

As if reading her mind, Callie hissed. "I've grown too strong for this my little soul. Not even salt can stop me from getting my bony fingers on you!" She reached her hands out.

"I'm not running away from you anymore, Callie Coven!" Grace snapped, backing away slowly from the evil hands.

"How did you know my last name?" Callie demanded. "Have you been sticking your snout where it shouldn't have been?"

"What does it matter to you?" Grace replied, glaring hatefully at the evil witch. "All you've ever cared about was power and everything else that means harming innocent folks just for the sake of staying immortal. I bet you've never had a friend in the world that would do anything for you, even if it means sacrificing everything he had just to help her. Isn't that right?"

"SHUT UP!" Callie hollered, casting a bolt of lightening from her fingers, striking Grace in the chest, sending her backwards, halfway out the circle.

Quickly, she rolled back in to avoid the grasp of the oncoming witches. They backed away, still unable to step in like their powerful mistress. The dark mistress could not believe that Grace stepped back up, refusing to back down.

"You know I gotta admit Callie, you're a bit overconfident don't you think," Grace said boldly, coming up with an idea. "I thought you were afraid of me."

"Me, afraid of you!" Callie cackled madly, and then concentrated hard on Grace. "I sold my soul for all the powers of the world. There has never been the most powerful witch in the world that would fear the presence of a simple little bovine such as you." Her bony finger tweaked Grace's nose, making her flinch in horror.

"You're a coward you evil, slimy old hag!" Grace spat, glaring at the witch with daggers in her eyes. "You thought that outlawing heroism in this world was going to stop anybody from reaching this island. But you were wrong. No matter how powerful you've become, it won't make any difference."

"Oh it won't, will it?"

Callie closed her eyes, concentrating. Before Grace could find out what was happening, a purple and orange cloud surrounded her and lifted her body off the ground. Callie swung her head sideways, throwing the cloud sideways with her mind. Grace shrieked when she had crashed uncontrollably into one of the stone pillars, outside the ring of salt, until Callie allowed her to slide down the slope near the shore.

Bruised and dazed, Grace struggled to stand, ignoring the pain in her body. She had to think of something else fast and find a way to help Jeremy. Surely Callie's freezing spell couldn't last forever. Who knows how long he could hold off in there? Before she could make another move back in the protection ring, black tentacles dug out of the ground, wrapping around each of her four legs. Another tentacle coiled itself around her body in a tight grip. She saw in terror that Callie and her minions were coming closer to her. The head witch laughed evilly, thinking that victory was finally hers.

Grace opened her mouth to scream, but the tentacle on her body also managed to wrap around her mouth. Beginning to suffocate, Grace kicked and fought with little success, seeing that the venomous witches were only coming closer. There was no escaping the clutches of these tentacles. She was trapped. Grace could feel tears forming in her eyes when she feared that this was the end. She had failed Jeremy and herself.

"Ladies, you know what to do," the witch commanded. "Surround her."

Grace could only watch in vain as the witches formed a circle around her, preparing for the same unholy, ritual sacrifice that they had failed to finish last time. With Callie's revived powers, there was no way their victim could escape these tentacles.

Callie stood in front of Grace with a twisted grin. "I've waited too long for this my precious little victim," she said in a deep, growling voice. "You may have reached it this far on my secret island, but your soul is still mine!" Her wicked hands caught hold of Grace's throat, forcing her to gaze into that horrible expression. "I'll be back on earth soon enough with more souls to take! You should have learned to stay out of things that don't concern you. So by the time your death has come, you're going to wish you were back on your own farm with your silly little family."

Soon, red aura filled Grace, giving Callie the power to absorb the much, needed essence that lay within the young bovine. She was the final soul needed to complete the key to opening the door to the land of the living. Grace struggled against the crushing grip of Callie's bony, yet powerful hands, trying to think of something…anything that would save her soul from a fate worse than death. Her strength was decreasing by now, feeling weak every second. Any moment now, she might as well be decayed

While she was praying for a miracle to happen, the thing she couldn't see from behind her, drifting closer by the waves was a familiar piece of shining stone, swimming close to her back hooves. Despite Callie's grasp on her throat, Grace couldn't believe what she found herself to be staring at as she glanced behind her shoulder. It was the lost guardian stone. Thinking quickly, she used her tail to pick it up while the witches were distracted, and jabbed it into the tentacle around her body, digging until putrid blood oozed out. The stone caused the rest of the tentacles to recoil, withering in pain, retreating into the ground. Coughing, gagging, and gasping for breath, Grace quickly threw the guardian stone around her neck, protected once again.

"NNNOOOOO!" Callie let out a blood, curdling scream. "YOU HORRID CONNIVING LITTLE CHEAT!" black smoke encircled around her. "TIME TO SEE HOW WELL YOU HANDLE THIS!"

Grace gasped and screamed as she moved back in alarm. The five witches moved back taking cover behind one of the pillars, fearing their own mistress enough to know how terrifying she can be when angry. Then, like an ancient volcano coming to life, Callie Coven ten times her normal size, had grown upward, no longer resembling anything human. Instead her giant body became that of a hideous, skeletal, abomination.

To avoid detection from the dreaded beast, Grace took cover behind a pillar. Remembering Jeremy's frozen prison, she had to do something to get that sword inside that black crystal. Even with her guardian stone back in place, she still had to be careful.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" Callie screamed. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME FOREVER! I CAN SMELL YOU NEARBY!"

Hearing nothing but silence, Callie was now working herself into a terrible temper now that the bovine refused to step out and show herself. At the height of her fury, without thinking, she had called upon the power of lightening to strike down in minimal places on the island. Luckily the bolts had missed Grace where she had been standing, but they had also created fires. Taking a peek behind the pillar, she had seen that a fire had started near Jeremy, melting the ice. All Grace had to do was get to him before it grew too large. But it also gave her an idea on how to buy some time.

Making her move, Grace jumped sideways behind the other pillar, dodging a bolt of lightening. Callie had spotted her unluckily and laughed wickedly, not expecting for her to inhale the area like a twister, attempting to suck Grace out from hiding. With every breath that Callie took, she created a storm of destruction from the sky. Grace laid flat on the ground, having no choice but to crawl out of hiding and make her way to the black crystal as fast as possible, without being blown into oblivion.

"YOU CAN RUN LITTLE COW!" Callie screamed, scorching the ground with more lightening bolts from the sky. "BUT YOU CAN NEVER HIDE FROM ME, THE MOST POWERFUL WITCH THAT EVER LIVED…AND WILL LIVE AGAIN IF YOU COME TO ME. THE SEA BEAST MIGHT HAVE FAILED TO TRANSPORT YOU TO ME, THANKS TO YOUR SILLY STONE. BUT NOW THAT I'M INVINCIBLE, WHAT WILL PREVENT ME FROM GETTING MY REVENGE ON THE HUMANS THAT HAVE DESTROYED MY BODY AND SENT ME TO THIS WORLD OF DARKNESS? ONCE YOU DIE, THERE WILL BE NO HERO LEFT TO STAND IN MY WAY!"

While the witch had been ranting and boasting of her upcoming victory, she had failed to notice that Grace was crawling up to the crystal the whole time, struggling to keep herself from being sucked into the vortex from above. So it was Callie that had been expecting the sea monster to not swallow her whole, but to transport her over to the witch's mansion. That was why the pirates were desperate to make sure she had fallen into the jaws of the beast. Miraculously, she had made her way back inside the circle of salt. The fire next to Jeremy was melting the ice faster than she expected. To stop him from being sucked in, she held onto the ice trapping his legs. Sooner than Grace had expected, the ice above him was cracking into a dozen pieces that got flew up into the void.

"GRACE, WHERE ARE YOU?" he called out, still keeping hold of the sword.

"JEREMY, SMASH THE CRYSTAL!" Grace hollered from down below. "SMASH IT BEFORE SHE FINDS WHAT WE'RE DOING!"

Jeremy nodded, raising the sword up high once more.

Their screaming had caught Callie's attention too late before she realized what was happening. He took the opportunity to bring the enchanted sword down with all his strength, instantly smashing the dark crystal. Everything on the island seemed to change, including the souls that were swimming out of their eternal prison.

"NO, NOT THE CRYSTAL!" Callie let out an unearthly scream as she made her way toward the two. "I'LL DIE WITHOUT IT!"

Grace looked up at Callie for a moment and yelled. "WELL THEN GET USED TO IT YOU UGLY OLD CRONE!" She felt no such pity for such a creature of pure evil.

A deformed Callie looked at the broken black crystal, and then stared down at her bony hands, withering and smoldering, trembling to realize the danger of her fate. Her gigantic form was shrinking down to normal size, no longer the abominable monster. An agonized roar was wrenched from her throat, echoing through the forbidden island. The witch's final roar of anger and rage slowly faded into a high pitched scream, causing the two heroes to cover their ears for protection. Her scream was enough to chill the blood. Then without explanation, she had reverted back into the form of a fake Mrs. C, powerless. The five witches found themselves dissolving into smoldering ash, screaming in agony until their green skin crumbled away to reveal their skeletons standing, until they disappeared into thin air. They were gone for good; all but Callie.

Grace and Jeremy moved far from the broken crystal and hid behind one of the pillars to watch what was happening. To their bewilderment, the lost souls surrounded a confused and fearful Callie, clutching her by the cloak, dragging her over to the destroyed black crystal. Other souls swarmed around her viciously to avenge their deaths after all those long years of imprisonment inside the black crystal, thanks to this witch's lust for power that she will no longer bear within.

"NO, NNNOOOO, DON'T DO THIS TO ME I BEG YOU!" Callie pleaded, losing her anger and control over the souls. Not even her medallion could save her. Then she snarled at the spirits. "GET YOUR SLIMY SOULS OFF OF ME, ALL OF YOU. I COMMAND YOU TO LET ME GO!"

But the spirits only ignored her, pulling her in further.

"NO NOT THAT, ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Callie cried out, clawing the ground with her hooves with little success. "YOU CAN'T DESTROY ME! I'M THE MOST POWERFUL WITCH IN THE WWWWWOOOOORRRRRLLDD!"

The moment she was dragged to the black crystal, a light erupted from Callie followed by several more, and she was blown apart, as if the sun exploded, leaving only her medallion behind. The red glow had faded into a grayish color. The souls backed away and disappeared in the light of the explosion.

Grace took a deep breath afterward, wondering where the spirits had gone off to. Everything was silent for a while on the island. A huge cracking sound then came from underneath, shaking the ground, tearing the island apart.

"Run for the boat Grace!" Jeremy shouted, running down the hill with Grace following behind him.

The longboat was still on shore, giving the two a chance to escape from the island and row further away as they watched the six stone pillars break apart into a million pieces. The water around the island was becoming choppy, crashing against the sides. The two friends looked at each other, thinking the same thing. Callie's reign of terror in the land of the dead was finally over. Without the black crystal floating, there was no need for the island to be standing any longer. And it was taking the pillars with them, disappearing beneath the waves. Lightening struck the island repeatedly until there was nothing left; not even a sign of Callie or the rest of the witches anywhere. They were gone forever, never to harm another innocent soul again.

"We did it," Grace said calmly, staring at the area where the island once stood. "Callie is gone…this time…forever."

Jeremy placed his hand on her shoulder. "We made a pretty good team in the fight against her. You are one brave cow and I'll never forget that."

Before Grace could thank him, she noticed that Jeremy's hands and feet were beginning to fade away. Next went his legs. Grace stared in confusion, wondering what was happening to her friend.

"Jeremy, what's happening to you?" she asked.

Jeremy had almost forgotten about what he wanted to tell Grace, but never had time to explain during the last encounter.

He sighed and then smiled weakly at Grace. "Grace, do you remember back in my village when everyone talked about spiritual entrapment?"

Grace nodded. "How could I forget that?"

"Well, now that Callie and her minions have been destroyed, that means her power over the rest of us there has been lifted. And it's time for me to go since I'm one of those villagers. But I'm not afraid, because I know where I'll finally be going."

He lifted his head up to the cloudy sky where he and Grace saw a dozen beams of white light lifting off the ground. Realizing what he meant, she saw her friend disappear.

**AN**: _That's it for Callie. She's been destroyed for good and the lost souls have been avenged. But there is one last chapter to go which will not take long to update since it is the epilogue. I've never been too fond of endings where the bad guy wins since I prefer that heroes should have triumphs instead. What made me wanna make a sequel to A Nightmare in Ghost Town? I guess it had something to do with me wanting to see Callie be stopped in any way otherwise there would be no more pleasant dreams for mortals. Stay tuned for the epilogue._


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"No Jeremy, please don't leave!" Grace begged sadly.

"I have to Grace," Jeremy told her, looking at his disappearing body. "I have no choice. My time on earth has already passed, long ago. And please don't be sad for me. Up there is where I will watch over you, safely and always. Don't forget, I'm free because of you. You learned to put aside your fears and helped to destroy the crystal at any cost. You might have been scared, but not even Callie could stop you. If we hadn't met, all of us wouldn't be floating up right now."

Grace looked up at the sky, recognizing the beams of light as the lost souls once trapped inside the black crystal. She heard whispers of them thanking her for freeing them, now that their spirits have been avenged so they can finally rest in peace. It was what they always wanted.

"Thank you miss," said the ghost of the confederate soldier. "Never thought I ever see the day when a brave young bovine would save us all from the clutches o' those wicked hags. But you changed all that. So long now." He floated upward, disappearing.

"Wait till the boys back home hear about this," said the union soldier joyfully before floating into space.

Grace smiled proudly, listening to more of the lost souls thanking her and Jeremy for setting them free. Never again would they feel pain, torture, suffering, or the insanity of being trapped with no hope of escape. There was much rejoicing now that the nightmare was over, especially for the lost souls. The two heroes were rejoiced for their victory, but it was also sad for Grace to say goodbye to Jeremy.

"I'll never forget you Jeremy," she choked. "Thank you for everything." And she turned to the sea, hoping Lucinda would hear her. "And I wanted to thank Lucinda too."

"I'm sure she already knows," Jeremy assured her. "And remember, I will always be your friend. Goodbye Grace."

"Goodbye Jeremy," she said, smiling weakly.

The rest of Jeremy finally faded until he had transformed into a white, glowing orb, floating up into the sky with the rest of the freed souls.

Feeling both happy and sad, Grace still smiled as she watched more souls float upward. She could have never come this far without Jeremy's help. And now because of her, he was finally going somewhere to a place where he had wanted to go. It would have been wrong of her to make him stay as she had learned before with making all kinds of friends. She herself had her own world and life to go back to. If all those people who helped her from the start were listening right now, she was already whispering a thank you to all of them.

Suddenly a huge bright light burst out from the dark sky. Grace squinted up at its direction. As the light cleared, she thought that she heard the voices of her friends calling out to her, telling her to come home. The light shone down on the longboat. At last, Grace felt herself fall into a deep, peaceful sleep. Her eyes were closed, not knowing where she was.

"_Grace_!"

Someone was calling out to her again.

"_Grace_!"

It was Maggie.

"_Grace_!"

The other voice was Mrs. Calloway. But for some reason, Grace didn't want to wake up yet. Not after that dangerous quest. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"_Grace_!"

To just lay there and sleep, drifting off into a wondrous place of enchantment where dreams do come true.

"GRACE!"

* * *

Her eyelids snapped open, staring into the faces of her friends, Maggie and Mrs. C. She found that she had been lying on the hay bed inside the den. It was morning outside of Patch of Heaven, with yesterday being Halloween. She slowly sat up, panting slightly. Then she yelled in excitement as she jumped up and embraced them. "Maggie, Mrs. C, I missed you girls so much!"

"Missed us? What's up Grace?" Maggie asked. "We never went anyplace. Have you been eating too many pumpkin seeds again before bedtime? It looked like you were under some kind of sleeping spell. I mean we were calling your name several times."

"Did you sleep well in any way?" asked Mrs. C.

"I'm fine girls," Grace assured them, yawning. "I guess I just had too much excitement from last night."

"I'll say," Maggie teased. "This morning I found you huddled close to Mrs. C here like you were having some kind of nightmare."

"I was?" Grace stared at them in confusion.

"Sure, in fact you were all like…" Maggie began, until Mrs. Calloway elbowed her in the side and mouthed to her 'Don't even try!'

Grace was still confused, but let it go.

"Anyways Grace, don't you think you've slept enough?" Mrs. C insisted. "It's a new day today."

"I'm wide awake Mrs. C," Grace smiled, getting out of the hay bed. "I've got so much to tell you girls, but you're not gonna believe it."

"Oh no, not the silly dream again Grace," Mrs. Calloway shook her head. "What have we just talked about?"

She walked out with her friends into the morning light, having the feeling of kissing the farm ground, thinking she was never going to see it again. Being back at home the day after Halloween seemed real enough. It almost felt as if that dream of her adventures in the land of the dead never happened. Even if it did, there was no need to fear anything anymore, not even while listening to the tale of Callie Coven, whom no one would ever know of her being defeated by Grace with a little help from a ghoulish friend and several others. Starting next year, she would be ready with salt and crosses to place at each opening of the barn with help from Lucky Jack. Because she would never know what other type of evil might still be out there.

Whether the dream was real or not, there was no need to fear anything from that anymore. It was time for Grace to go on living her life on earth for as long as possible through the good times and bad times. That was life, but Grace was used to it. She and the lost souls were free from Callie's wrath, never to be imprisoned by the likes of her dark powers no more. And never again would there be a reason for Grace to return to the land of the dead. Her place was here with her family to live, protect, and endure whatever new adventures awaited them. It felt good to be home. Her dream had been a most peculiar trip.

**The End**

**AN: **_Finally, that's the end of this story. I hope some readers enjoyed it, even if it might not be the very best. To tell the truth, I'm done writing holiday fanfiction stories for HOTR. I think two Halloween and two Christmas stories are enough for now. I once had a dream about the girls being trapped in a ancient like fortress while being stalked by a goblin-like, mischievious creature who always had his eyes on Maggie for whatever reason. But I might use that idea for something else such as my animated miniseries about a southern dairy cow. And because of me animating and getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I might take a little break from writing fanfiction, but it won't be long, depending on how much free time I have over Christmas break. All characters in this story, except my own fanfiction characters, belong to the Walt Disney Company. If anyone was ever interesting in using my characters for their stories, they would have to ask my permission first. And no one is allowed to copy my ideas unless they create their own version. Anyways, I hope everyone has had a Happy Halloween two weeks ago and are likely getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I know I am._


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